Joker: Tales of an Evil Mind
by Psychorex
Summary: Ren Amamiya; A sociopath. A psychopath. A Criminal. In short, not someone you'd like to anger. ALTERNATE UNIVERSE story, Not necesary a full story, just a collection of scenes with an evil Protagonist - mostly based on the game, but some made by me. Read and see if you like.
1. Chapter 1

Some people achieved a lot in their life. Some are proud for becoming artists, some for starting a multi-million dollar corporation.

Ren Amamiya was proud for being a sociopath.

That's why the moment when he noticed the school he intended to blow up "accidentaly" during the next Chemistry class changed somehow into a terryfying looking castle he immediately looked at his companion, the blonde guy who just could not shut up about some teacher called Kamoshida, realizing full well what he should do.

"Come on." he said in a friendly tone "Let's go."

The instinct told Ryuji Sakamoto to turn around this very instant and run away as fast as he could from this creepy-looking dude. However, noticing the other boy already in front of the gate he gulped and followed his steps.

He really should have listened to his instinct - right now he was laying beaten on the ground and covered in blood.

"Do you have any more money?" The other boy asked in a threatening tone.

"No..." he replied and coughed a few times "Please! You took it all!"

"Liar!" The dark-haired boy yelled and kicked him in the stomach. Ryuji grunted and coughed up some blood.

"Hey!" They heard a voice "What's all this commotion?"

"Kamoshida!" Ryuji turned to his stomach, relief clear in his eyes "Help!"

Not long after, both young males were dragged down the floor and trapped in a small, crampled space. Kamoshida, somehow dressed as a King, was observing them with yellow eyes.

"Kamoshida..." The blonde boy said weakly after reaininf conciousness "What is all this?"

"Noone is allowed to do as they please in my castle." The man said calmly, but threateningly, eyes now focused on Ryuji Sakamoto.

"Your... castle?"

"SILENCE!" The teacher yelled and kicked the boy "You have broken into my castle. The punishment for that is death."

"WHAT!?"

"I'll have you executed right now." Kamoshida smiled.

The teacher turned around and noticed the dark-haired boy standing up and raising his hand. His grin widened.

"Plannin to run away, huh?"He smirked "What a heartless friend you are."

"No, I'm sorry." The boy with the glasses bowed down and replied "I was just wondering if I can maybe use the bathroom?"

The king nodded.

"Second floor,third door on your left. Next to the Souvenir Store."

The boy bowed once again and left. As soon as he was out of the field of vision, he started running - and not at all towards the toilet.

"Well..." The king smiled sadistically "As for you , Sakamoto" He lowered his sword and touched with it the boys neck. Ryuji gasped for breath. "As for you..." Suddenly the king's eyes widened. He withdrew his sword "Wait... What the hell did I just do!?" 

Ren was already on the ground floor, when he heard the alarm system starting to ring. Then he heared a voice.

"Hey, Frizzy Hair!" it said "Over Here!"

The boy turned around and sawa cat-like creature imprisoned in one of the cells.

"You will never get out of here alive without me!" it said confidently "Hurry! Take those keys and free me!"

The boy turned around and noticed the keys that the creature was talking about.

"That's it! Now free me, Frizzy Hair!"

Ren thought for a bit. He looked at the helpless creature that would surely be soon executed if he did not free it. The look in it's eyes was it tried to sound confident, the creature must have been scared to death. Within a few seconds, he knew what he had to do.

"Um... Frizzy Hair?"

Ren calmly showed the cat-thing middle finger and nonchalantly threw the keys to it's cell to the river

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

"See ya!" Ren waved as he heard the footsteps getting nearer.

He ran towards the biggest door, with the green sign "EXIT - TO THE REAL WORLD" above them.

"You bastard!" The creature shouted after him "You cheap bastard!"

The guards entered just then - enough for them to notice Ren vanishing after getting through the door.

"Oh man..." One of them said "King Kamoshida will be SO angry."

"Well" The other one turned around and picked the spare keys from his pocket "Guess we will just have to execute the cat for now".

 **LINE BREAK**

Ren put his hand on his knees and gasped for air. He raised his head and looked around. Everything seemed as he has escaped the threat for now. The boy breathed with relief. He noticed he still has Ryuji's money in his pocket. The boy took out his smartphone and opened the Map app. After a few moments of consideration, he entered the phrase "Liquor Store"

He picked the one that was the closest and started to move in the direction, when he heard a voice behind his back. A very angry one, at that.

"YOU!"

Ren turned around and noticed Ryuji Sakamoto. The blonde boy has had numerous bruises, his shirt was torn, and he was bleeding from his nose.

"Oh." Ren muttered " You did not die, huh?" He was quite disappointed.

"I escaped when they mobilized their units in search for you."

The blonde boy walked up towards him and raised his fist.

"What the hell was that!?" He asked in a venomous voice " You left me there to die!"

"Yeah." Ren nodded " I know."

"Hey!" They both turned around "What's with the yelling! Are you two Shujin students!?"

The boys noticed two unfriendly looking police officers making their way towards them. Ren turned towards Ryuji and smiled.

"He was bullying me." He said, looking the blonde boy square in the eyes.

"WHAT!?" Ryuji protested "NO I DID NOT! TELL THEM THE TRUTH! There was this weird castle and..."

"Castle!?" One of the Officer's eyes widened " Kid, are you on drugs!?"

"Oh... yeah, Mr. Officer!"Ren exclaimed "He was threating me because I noticed him giving some weird substance to a elementary school kid."

"Is that so?" The second officer asked. "Hand over your "

"Wha-? But I..."

"NOW!"

"For real?"

Ryuji had no choice but to hand over his backpack. The officer searched for about ten minutes, but found nothing.

"Happy now?" The blond boy asked angrily.

"Uh, !" Ren said " I remember now! he took the pills not from his backpack, but he had them in his uniform!

The cop did not ask anymore questions and put his hand in the boy's uniform pocket. He searched for a few moments until he pulled his hand back.

"Oh my God." Ryuji paled

The officer took out two pink pills and a small dose of a white-grayish substance. He looked at the boy without saying anything.

"That's not mine!" The blonde boy's voice was trembling and for a split second Ren felt bad about planting him Drugs when he was still unconcious in Kamoshida's Castle "Really! That's..."

"Let me guess,you were just holdin it for a friend, right?" The officer sighed "All right, you're coming with us."

"No!"Ryuji pleaded and tried to struggle " I really don't know what's happening! I am telling you, it's not mine!" he noticed a small chuckle behind his back and looks at Ren. "You... YOU! YOU SON OF A-" He screams as he is dragged towards the police car "I WILL GET YOU FOR THIS! I WILL GET YOU!"

The cop slamed shut the door behind Ryuji, who visibly was still screaming obscenities at the black-haired boy. But Ren just waves after him,like he did before with the cat looking thing and, puts up his hoodie and leaves smiling.

 **LINE BREAK**

"Hey." Sojiro Sakura notices the young man entering his cafe " Your home room teacher called. She says you skipped half of your classes today."

"Uh-huh."

"Care to explain why?"

"No."

The owner of the LeBlanc cafe looks at him, as the boy climbs the stairs to his room without saying a word

"It's not that I care about you. But remember this: ONE serious offence and..."

"And?" Ren stopped.

"And I will call your Parole officer, you punk!" Sojiro says, now clearly angry

For a few second, Ren does nothing, just stands there. Then, without turning around, he reaches into his pocket and picks up a box of matches.

"You wanna see this place burn down, old man?"

Sojiro widens his eyes, opens his mouth, but he is unable to come up with a response, as the 16-year old continues to climb the stairs.

"Goodnight." Was the last thing that Ren said.

Sojiro just stands there, with his mouth still wide open.

"Wow." Says a middle-adged man sitting by one of the tables. "This kid is _crazy."_

 _a/n. Well, that's it for now :D I don't know if I will continue the story, but probably I will, since I just started playing the game and find it defintely greatest one in the franchise._

 _This is a parody story, so if you feel something doesn't make sense, please don't worry about it - That said, I am open to criticism,of course._

 _Please post in comment if you want to read more, or if this is better left of as an one-shot._


	2. Chapter 2

A/n Hello everyone! So I decided to post at least a few more chapters, thanks to your good reviews! I can't however tell you when exactly the next chap is going to be published, as I am just in my 1st playthrough and trying to be careful about spoilers (though it doesn't really work :D),so I think I will update as I play. Also, I am thinking about changing this story's rating to Mature - I am not sure about that, please post if you think I should do that in the reviews. Well,and now... things will get random

CHAPTER II

First thing Ren noticed after opening his eyes, is that he was not in his room anymore. No – he was laying on something hard and cold. He got up lazily and looked around, surprised. The interior was of the blue-purple color. Somewhere, a piano was playing and a woman sang. What's worse, Ren noticed that he was trapped behind bars . He quickly ran towards them and grabbed them, trying to break free. That's when he noticed an old, creepy man sitting by a desk and smiling at him.

„Where am I!?" Ren yelled at the man.

„Trickster." The man spoke in an unusually deep voice „Welcome to my Velvet Room".

 _„...aaaAA...UUAAAa.."_ The woman continued singing to the melody played by the piano."

„What is this place?" Ren yelled „Where am I?"

„This place exists between dream and reality, mind and matter." The man never stoped smiling „My name is Igor, and those are my assistants: Caroline and Justine".

 _„AaaaUUUUaaaaU-U-u-u-a-aA..."_

Ren let go of the bars and just now noticed two small girls by Igor's side, both of which kept sending the old man scared glances. They could not be older than 10.

„Dude" Ren looked at Igor with disgust „You're even more sick than I am."

„Do not worry." Igor continued „ You are fast asleep in your real world. I summoned you from within your dreams."

 _„...Aaaa-uuuu-AAAAAuaaa-aaaaa..."_

„GOD! Shut UP!" Ren yelled.

Both the piano and the singer cut off abruptly. Igor also seemed to lose his track. He kept mumbling something, as if he could not speak.

The girl on his left used this opportunity to move a few steps away from him.

„Twenty years..." The old man finally said „I had to listen to this for twenty years day and night and you came and... anyway, the reason I summoned you here, Trickster, is because I have very high expectations for you. Justine, where are you going?"

The young girl winced and returned to her place.

„That's not one of my concern." Ren responded calmly

„LISTEN WHEN OUR MASTER SPEAKS TO YOU,INMATE!" The other girl, Caroline lashed at him, however something was off- she held one palm open and indicated with her eyes for Ren to look at it. The boy followed their movement and found out a short word written on the palm : „help"

„Trickster, you have awakened the power of Persona. This power..."

„I don't care." Ren stated abruptly.

„Wait, what!?" Igor widened his eyes.

„I don't know what sick game are you trying to get me involved in , but I will not be a part of it. You can take your disgusting power as far away from me as possible, because there's no way I'd join you in **this**."

Ren once again looked at Igor with disgust,turned away from him and laid down in this cold,hard bed he has awoken in.

„TRICKSTER!" He heard an angry voice „TRICKSTER, COME BACK HERE RIGHT NOW! I AM NOT DONE TALKING TO YOU!TRICKSTER!"

But the next time Ren opened his eyes, he was laying in his own bed in Sojiro's attic.

 **LINE BREAK**

It was a few days after Ryuji Sakamoto was expelled from Shujin Academy and send to Juvenile Hall for drug dealing and bullying.

Getting rid of the infamous trouble maker certainly got Ren many benefits, especially from mr. Suguru Kamoshida, who quickly became his favourite teacher. But one day after school, when he was invited to Mr. Kamoshida's office for some r and r , the teacher could not resist and finally asked.

"How come someone like you got kicked out of previous school? What happened?"

And Ren felt the painful memories of that night, that he fought so hard to ignore or forget, are all coming back to haunt him

-FLASHBACK EFFECT INITIATED-

 _"GET IN THE CAR!"_

 _"No! Please" The Woman's voice was desperate._

 _"I SAID GET IN!"_

 _The woman tried to struggle, but was held down with great force._

 _"I will call the police!"_

 _"DO IT! SEE IF I CARE! You think they would do anything ? The cops are..."_

 _"Kid, what the hell do you think you're doing!?_

 _Ren turned around and saw a bald man in a suit standing at the other side of the street. He dropped his suitcase in shock and looked at the scene with his eyes clearly widened behind his glasses._

 _"What are you looking at!? This ain't a show! Get lost,old man!" Ren tried to yell, but at this time,the alcohol really kicked in and all he managed were some incoherent grunts._

 _"Please, help!" The young woman cried towards the man._

 _Meanwhile, Ren felt that the insides of his stomach are slowly trying to move towards his mouth._

 _"Please!" The woman cried even more desperately._

 _The man picked up his suitcase and approached Ren._

 _"I told you to let her go!" He screamed, before swinging with his suitcase._

 _He did not hit Ren, but the boy has had enough anyway._

 _"Damn Punk!" the elegant looking man looked at the pile of puke covering his shoes "I'll sue you!"_

 _Ren could not react, as he slowly passed out from alcohol overdose._

-FLASHBACK EFFECT TERMINATED -

Both males were now sitting in silence.

"That bastard." Ren muttered "That's why I hate rich people."

Then, Kamoshida started to cry.

"What's wrong?"

"You know." The teacher wiped the tear from his eye "We may be even more similar then I thought."

 _ **LINE BREAK  
**_

The sun was certainly a nice addition after a few days of rain. Ren decided to spend the lunch break outside. However, as soon as he found a calm place to sit down,he hear a angry, boyish voice.

"There you are, Joker!"

The boy turned around and saw a black cat with blue eyes glaring daggers at him and approaching him slowly.

"You think you can do something like this to me and just run away!?"

„Oh, wow, a talking cat." Ren said and returned to reading his book

"You don't recognize me!?"

"You are that cat-looking thing from the castle." The boy answered calmly

„I am not a cat!" The cat yelled „My name is Morgana and I am just as human as you are!

„Sure."

A few seconds of silence, which then turned into more seconds, and more,until finally Morgana broke the silence after almost five minutes.

"You left me there." The cat hissed "They cut off my head!"

"... you have a head."

"Well, you know, I have nine..."

"Oh, yeah. Cats have nine lives, I forgot... but you aren't a cat,you said."

„MEOW!"

„Ow!" Ren yelled „Stupid furball! Take your claws off my hair!"

The boy struggled with Morgana for a few moments, before finally managing to grab him by the fur and get him out of his head.

„Meow! Meowmeowmeow!" Morgana said, swinging his claws in the air.

„What the hell do you want?" Ren asked,putting him back on the ground.

"You will help me." The cat hissed angrily "You will help me get back my memories of being human, because despite of being a cat I am a human. You wil help me get to the bottom of Mementos and get my memories for me because i am a human and my memories are at the bottom of mementos and I am human and..."

"No."

"What do you mean!?"

"No."

"But..." the cat looked at him "Joker, come on! This is not how the storyline should be and you know it!"

„What are you even talking about?" Ren looked at Morgana as if he was crazy „Just... get out of here."

„Not before I gain back my memories from Mementos!"

The boy sighed and closed his book.

„If I take you to this...mementos, will you gimme a break?"

„Yeah, yeah, sure..."

„Then let's go."

 **LINE BREAK**

Apparently, as Morgana explained, the red-eyed app on his phone was a navigation system that allowed people to travel between the Real World and something called the Metaverse. Ren did not understand and he did not care, but he already had a plan in his head.

Tired and exhausted, the boy and Morgana made their way through the first area. They engaged in a few battles, but all of them were boring so they won't be mentioned here.

Because he did not listen to Igor, Ren did not know how to use a Persona, but he was quite happy with dancing on the defeated Shadows' bodies, ripping them to pieces and taking parts of them as a „souvenir"

Finally, he and Morgana reached what looked like an opening to a lower floor.

„Well, what now?" Morgana looked at him „What do we do?"

„You wanted to get to the bottom of this place, right?"

„... Yeah?"

„Well..." Joker grabbed the cat „ HERE-YOU-GO!" The boy screamed as he kicked Morgana down the stairs.

„MEOW! Joker, you asshole!" Came along with the sound of something fallng downstairs

The boy turned around, smiled and tapped the red-eyed icon. Soon, he was back in the real world.

Another day, another job well done.

 **LINE BREAK**

It was already getting dark when Ren reached the doors of LeBlanc cafe. Upon noticing his arrival, Sojiro paled extremely. The boy walked towards the bartender.

„Give me some curry." He demanded.

„Ah... uh..." The man tried to smile … „But... you see... we're out."

„I'm sorry, what?" Ren raised his eyebrows „Could you repeat?"

„W-we're...out of curry" Sojiro looked as he was about to cry „P-please... This cafe is all I have... I'll do anything."

„I understand." Ren smiled at him „No problem."

„Really!?" Sojiro was shocked

„Well, of course, such thriving, prospering restaurant would not have any curry left this late. It was silly of me to ask, I'm sorry."

„Thank... you." Sojiro could not believe what he was hearing.

„But let me just say something."

„Yeah?

„What do you mean" Ren picked up a chair and threw it against the wall „There is no curry? Are you stupid or what!?"

„NO! PLEASE!"

„DO YOU REALLY WANT ME TO WRECK THIS PLACE LIKE I DID MY GRANDMA'S!?" The boy was fliping one table after another. „YOU TRYING TO CROSS ME OR WHAT!? GET OUT! „ he threw a chair at an elderly couple sitting in the corner „GET OUT OF HERE! THE SHOP IS CLOSED!"

The couple quickly took their stuff and left the cafe without paying. Ren turned towards Sojiro,anger clear in his eyes.

„If tommorow there won't be any curry too." He said in a extremely soft voice „I'll burn down this place AND your home. Do you get me?"

„Y..yes... sir!" said Sojiro who was kneeling in fear behind the bar „Yes,of course!"

„Good." Ren turned around and walked towards his room „Oh, one more thing."

„Yes?"

„If the cops find out about this, _you're a dead man_. You better make sure it doesn't happen."

„Yes! Yes, I will talk to those customers,and..."

„Goodnight."

Ren slowly made his way to his room.


	3. Chapter 3

_A/n Hey Guys! First of all, I am sorry for such a long break between the chapters. Well, you know - you don't choose when you are sick :D I was barely able to speak for most of last two weeks. In return,this chapter is nearly twice as long as the previous ones. However, keep in mind that I wrote parts of it with nearly 40 degrees Celcius fever,so... yeah, even I don't know what I meant. Anyway, sorry if quality drops in some moments, I tried to fix,but still am not really thinking I did a good job on this chapter. I will for sure try to make it up to you with the next ones._

 _Well, and for now,please enjoy chapter 3 - where Ann, Mishima and the others are more then clear enough with what is happening to them and about kamoshida's abuses, but Ren doesn't care - until... well, read and find out ;)  
_

Despite the time of the year being spring, the morning was quite cold as Ren was hiding from the drops of rain. He quickly noticed a person standing next to him, and also trying to escape rain by using a hoodie. That person shivered, but decided to take the hoodie off. Soon it turned out to be a girl. But Ren found her features to be quite different from a typical Japanese high schooler, and one the weirdest thing about her, was that she had hair unlike any other he ever saw. They were blonde and in an extremely unusual style.

„Wow." Ren spoke „What ugly hair colour do you have."

The girl turned to face him, and looked as if she wanted to say something, but decided not to. She smiled at the boy for a few moments as if he was stupid and turned her face away from him.

„Hey!" The black haired boy was angry now. „What? What's so funny?"

The girl did not answer, just smiled again, without looking at Ren,which angered him further. He decided to take a few steps towards her.

„Hey! I'm talking to..."

„You'll be late." A male voice said „You need a ride?"

Ren noticed Kamoshida, peeking at them from the window of his car and smiling gently. The boy felt the cold breeze of wind on his skin and shivered a bit.

„Yeah," Ren made a few steps. „ That would be useful, thank you..."

„Sure, thanks!" The girl replied and quickly ran towards the man's car.

As she entered, the teacher looked at Ren and nodded at him.

„Remember you have your first lesson with Kawakami today. Try to not be late again."

With this, the teacher closed the window, pressed the pedal and quickly drove away from this place, leaving the boy behind just as the first lightning enlightened the sky.

Ren clenched his fists.

 **LINE BREAK**

As Ren entered the school, he was already feeling as if he had high fever, and all his clothes were dripping with water. The boy decided to open his bag, to check if his textbooks and school stuff were okay.

He almost yelled in surprise.

„Miss me!?" Morgana said, looking at him angrily with his one eye (the other one seemed to be pulled out). The cat didn't also have an ear, half of his tail was missing, and some of his fur looked like it was teared out by something.

„Not you again." The boy sighed as he began to unpack.

„Oh, yeah it's me all right! Joker, what the hell do you think you're doing!?"

„Unpacking." Ren replied as he pulled a knife out of his bag and placed it on a nearby chair.

„No! I mean what do you think you're doing as in: what did you thought you were doing when you thought you can just toss me towards the bottom of Mementos?"

„You got your memories back, didn't you?" The boy asked as he placed a baseball bat next to the knife."

„No! I got attacked as soon as you left and I was dizzy because of all this falling so I could not defend myself. I barely managed to escape!"

„Too bad." Ren muttered, polishing the sword he pulled out of his bag.

„Wait." Morgana was stunned „You actually feel bad for me?"

„No, I mean: too bad you managed to escape."

The cat noticed what the boy was holding in his hand and gasped.

„Joker... why did you brought a gun to school?"

„I have a right to have hobbies, haven't I?" Ren replied, looking around to see if any teacher was somewhere nearby.

„What are you planning on doing!?"

„To you?" Ren opened a window, grabbed Morgana by the remains of his tail and tossed him outside „This."

As soon as he heard the sound of the cat's body hitting the ground and a streak of words that won't be mentioned here as it is too vulgar, the boy closed the window. He put the gun and the other weapons back to his bag and decided to make his way to Suguru Kamoshida's office. Noone will humiliate him like that. However, as soon as he reached the door to PE Faculty's office something was wrong – the teacher was clearly arguing with someone - a young girl, judging by the sound of her voice.

Still, without hesistation, he pushed the door open.

He saw Kamoshida cornering the blonde girl he met earlier, holding her by her hands. The teenagers' eyes met each other, and Ren saw tears streaming down the girl's cheek.

„Oh, sorry." Ren said „You're in the middle of something. I'll come back later."

He was about to close the door, when suddenly they were opened with great strength, and the blonde girl ran past him, crying visibly.

„TAKAMAKI! Come back here!" Kamoshida yelled after her, but the girl did not return.

„You stupid brat!" The teacher suddenly grabbed Ren by the shirt „Do you know what you have done! Now I will never score... I mean, teach Takamaki."

„If you don't want your life to turn into a hell on earth, I suggest you let me go this instant." Ren replied calmly, smiling at Kamoshida.

„You'll pay, Kid." Kamoshida hissed and let go of Ren's shirt, then screaming to noone in particular, as the hallway was empty „You will all pay!"

Then, the teacher suddenly punched Ren in jaw.

 **LINE BREAK**

When Ren returned to his classroom, all eyes were fixed on him. It was lunch break, so no teacher was present. He was about to sit down, when the blonde girl gesticulated for him to come closer.

„Hey! Thanks for saving me! I am Ann Takamaki."

„I didn't mean too. And don't care."

„You know." She continued „This Kamoshida guy is a very, very evil man. He thinks his students are slaves who he can use as punching bags whenever he is in a bad mood.

„I. DON'T. CARE!"

„Yeah!" A student with spiky black hair said and bruises on his face said „He constantly beats kids up for doing nothing." He sighed „If only there was someone who could save us."

„Exactly!" Someone from the other side of the room yelled „If there only would be a secret world where someone could punish Kamoshida and get away with it, Man,That would be swell!"

„I am a part of his volleyball team!" A girl said „ He constantly calls me to his office and then... and then... WHO, OH WHO WILL SAVE US FROM KAMOSHIDA!?"

„That won't be me!" Ren yelled angrily.

„Don't worry, you guys!" Ann Takamaki stood up, her body and voice trembling „He saved me! He can save us all! He will!"

„NO, I WO-"

„Save us." Most of the class stood up „Save us. Save us. Save us."

„Dammit!" Ren yelled as he left the room „And they tell me I am insane!?"

However, leaving the class did not help. Wherever the boy did go, he somehow overheard parts of other student's conversations, such as „You heard about the new kid!? He will finally free us of Kamoshida's reign of terror!" „That Amamiya guy? He will crush Kamoshida's stupid face for sure." „Mom, what's for dinner tonight?" „You think it's true? Ren Amamiya really is the Chosen One?"

„What the hell!?" The boy turned around „What are you even all talking about! Are you all on drugs or something?"

„It has been foretold in the ancient times that one day The One With The Wicked Heart shall come to Shujin Academy and get rid of the evil that helds captive the corridors of the school, bring a century of peace and prosperity and bring upon a new dawn for everyone" Mrs. Kawakami said, pointing at a collection of old paintings on the wall „Please, oh Ren the Great One. Save this school. Save me."

Ren looked at the group of kneeling students and his homeroom teacher.

„I don't know what's wrong with you all, but you clearly need serious help. If you'll excuse me,I'll head back to Sojiro's cafe where I will prepare for my trip back home because there's no way I am staying here after what just happened. Goodbye."

 **LINE BREAK**

„Oh, no."

„Welcome back, Trickster." The old man smiled. „I see you came back."

„Like I had a choice. At least that stupid music isn't playing anymore." Ren said as he got up of the bed „I told you, you sicko, keep your power to yourself."

„Our Master wishes to speak with you. For your own sake... " Justine looked at the man and gulped "I suggest you take his words seriously."

„Today marks the beggining of your ordeal, Trickster. Let us celebrate our reunion. Caroline, I told you - there is no service here. Your calls won't come through." Igor's smile widened as the other girl entered the room with her head bowed down. „Why did you steal Pappa Iggy's phone? You know it's a no-no thing to do."

„I'm sorry, Master." The girl looked terrified.

„As for you Trickster... I have very high expectations."

„You already said that."

„I don't know how,but it seems you haven't yet awakened to your power of Persona. That's the first time that's ever happened." Igor chuckled „Oh, you are a interesting one."

„Dude." Ren interrupted him „Stop looking at me like that,"

„Still, I am sure this will happen sooner than later. Your rehabilitation may finally begin."

„My what now?" Ren was starting to get irritated. „God,this is boring."

„How did you like my app? I created the Metaverse Navigator to help train you as a thief. Should there be other people that will assist you, I will grant it to them as well."

„Wait!" Ren suddenly felt fury taking him over „YOU'RE the reason my phone keeps displaying notifications for... questionable dark-net websites? And now you want to drag others into it too!?"

„What?"Igor paled „No... no,no,no,that was not me,I swear."

„You goddamn pervert. The Metaverse is just a codename for your group of sickos, isn't it!?" Ren spat at the man and took a few steps back „Stay the hell away from me!"

„Please, stop!" Justine cried „Stop, our Master is getting angry! if he does..."

„His fury knows no limits..." Caroline whispered

„TRICKSTER! GET BACK HERE"

„If you kidnap me one more time" Ren said as he sat down on the bed in his cell „I will notify the cops and Child Protection Services."

Igor gasped, but as Ren layed down in the bed he got visibly furious.

„Trickster, get up! Get up I said!" For the first time, Igor stood up from behind his desk and marched towards the boy's cell. He grabbed the metal grid and started shaking it furiously,trying to open break it. „Get off the bed! Get off the bed! Get off the..."

 **LINE BREAK**

The first moment after waking up, Ren noticed enormous pressure on his chest. He reached his hand in order to check what is happening and felt something warm and furry. And breathing. The boy opened his eyes, and first thing he noticed was a black furball laying on top of him.

„MORGANA!?"

„Well, whom did you expect?" The cat yawned „Rise Kujikawa?"

„...No." Ren replied, not looking at the cat.

„I heard that teacher Kamoshida got you good,huh?"

„How did you even get here!? Get out of my house! SOJIRO!"

„What if I told you there is a way to get rid of him... and get away with it?"

Ren looked at the cat with suspicion.

„You mean... murder?"

The cat looked at him blankly.

„NO, JOKER, NOT MURDER, OKAY!? PAY ATTENTION!"

„Stop screaming at me! Why the hell are you even calling me Joker anyway!?"

„Well - it's just if I am a CatMan - and then your hair looks similar to Heath Ledger in that movie „Dark Knight Rises"too …

„What!?" Ren jumped out of his bed and touched his hair „No it doesn't! That's it, get outta here!"

„Joker! Listen to me!" The cat begged as Ren again grabbed him by fur. „There is a way to punish Kamoshida and stop those weird cult following for you at school!"

„I was trying to punish him!" Ren hissed „I was about to plant weapons in his office and frame him for murder, but that Takamaki..."

„Oh," Morgana breathed with relief „So that's what you were about to do."

„Well,of course, what else would I bring a gun to school for!?"

„Um...Nevermind. Anyway, Joker-"

„Stop calling me that!"

„Okay." Morgana facepalmed „So,how would you like to be called!?"

Ren blushed a bit, and looked around the room to see if noone was spying on him. Then he took a deep breath and replied silently:

„Akira."

„...Excuse me?"

„AKIRA, okay!? My real name makes me cringe inside."

„Okay,okay. So, Jok-Akira, I really think there is a way for you to get revenge on Kamoshida. Do you remember when you first entered that weird realm where everything seemed like a castle?"

„You mean where I beat a dude up, took all his money and got him arrested for drugs?"

„Wha-? Never mind,I don't want to know. Anyway, this is called a place. And is a manifestation of the owner's deepest distorted desires."

„Could you just skip the intro and get to the point?"

„UGH! Long story short: you get inside a person's Palace, you defeat him using the power of Persona, he stops being a jerk. End of story."

„A persona?" Ren asked „I think I heard that name before... was it not what that old creep tried to get me involved in?"

„What old creep?"

„Igor." Ren waved his hands „Never mind. So what is a Persona?"

„It's a power coming from the inside of your heart, that mostly takes form of mythical beasts and... well, for you, all you need to know it's a weapon you could use on your enemies."

„A weapon?" Ren's tone changed dramatically and his lips curved into a smile as he imagined Kamoshida being torn apart or impaled by an unicorn's horn „And I can use it on my enemies? So YOU DO mean I can kill and get away with it!" Ren smiled, as more and more images of Kamoshida's violent death scenes came into his mind.

„What!? That's not what I mean! If you kill the palaces' owner in that world, the real version will die too!"

„Exactly..." Ren mutterred, clearly enjoying himself a lot more now.

„Jo-Akira, NO! All you have to do is steal the owner's treasure! That's it. No killing!"

„Wait... stealing!?" Ren looked at the cat „I can kill AND steal and get away with it! But that's... that's like a dream come true for me ! Why the hell haven't you told me that eariler! Does Sojiro have a Palace!? Let's go! Let's go right now!"

„No."

„WHAAAA-!?" The boy's hands were shaking as he picked the cat up again. „What are you telling me this for,then!? What do you mean no?

„You must be tired after today." The cat said softly, looking into the boy's eyes,who just stood there dumbfounded. „Let's. Get. Some. Sleep."

 **LINE BREAK**

After a few minutes of discussion, Ren finally agreed to postpone their journey to Kamoshida's palace. Although the boy was shaking with excitement at the thought of Kamoshida's demise at his hands, Morgana was right – they needed to prepare themselves. Ren decided to start the preparations by eating as much as he could. Sojiro always prepared for the boy exactly what he wanted. The teen was actually starting to think that the old cafe owner has come to like him, but then he remembered that the last time Sojiro asked Ren to make cafe for himself and engaged in a talk with a client, both he and the client ended up with burned faces and the cofee machine was accidentally destroyed.

Bad news was – he had to return to school for at least a few more days. Starting today.

The first class was with Kawakami again,and unfortunately, Ren had to listen to a whole lecture dedicated to his apparent bravery and honesty. Then, at art's class, most of his classmates painted some kind of image depicting him as a knight returning from a warzone.

Having enough of this, the boy decided to take a walk down the school hallway.

„Oh, why,oh why is Kamoshida-sensei so cruel To us?" Cried the first girl Ren passed by.

The teen closed his eyes and continued to walk through the hallway,trying not to listen to the voices. However, with his eyes closed, he could not help but collide with someone. He opened his eyes and saw ths shy, black haired boy from his class in front of him,

„Hiii." The boy said slowly „I am Yuuki Mishima."

„Nice to meet you." Ren replied, trying to pass him by,however the other boy would not let him.

„Hiiii."

„What the hell do you want!?"

„Look." Mishima mechanically extended the hand in which he was holding his phone. „I made a coool website for you"

„Wha-?" Ren looked at the screen and gasped at the sight of something pink with bright green letters exclaiming: Amazing's Ren Amamiya Amazing Phanboy Center „What the hell is all this?".

„You are our heroooo, see? We're all counting on you, see? I will never forget the day you decided to voice your opposition to Kamoshida."

„I didn't even meant to!"

„'Ey! What's goin' on here!?" A voice behind Ren asked with anger. „Why're this assholes' pictures all over the school?

At the sound of the voice, Ren froze in his tracks. He slowly turned around, a million of thougts racing in his brain at the same time. However, as soon as he did, there was no mistaking – those spiky blonde hair could not be mistaken for anyone elses. As both boys noticed each other, they narrowed their eyes angrily and looked at each other with clear hatred . Ren stepped forward, with his fists clenched. He spoke,giving his words as much of threat as he could.

 _„_ ** _Hello, Sakamoto."_**


	4. Chapter 4

**a/n HELLO EVERYONE! After a rather long break, caused by some unepected personal problems (for which I sincerly apologize) it's time for a new chapter! This one is actually part 1 out of 2 that parody the interrogation scenes, but still mostly continue the story of the previous I felt the need to do a smaller story to introduce the character of Sae Nijima in this (and the next) chapter's formula is a bit different than the previous ones, but I still hope you enjoy your reading.**

 **Oh, but I at least have had time to finish the game. Now that I know what's going on,I think there will be more room for me for storytelling :D**

 **SO, ENJOY!**

 **Chapter 4: Informative Interrogation, part I**

The young, blue haired woman's hands were shaking in fury as this... this brat continued to clearly mock her with his confession,talking about some sorts of other words and clearly priding himself in the damage he caused. Moreover, he seemed to actually quite enjoy the situation he was in. Finally she snapped and her personal feelings took over instead of her cold, proffesional attitude.

"You are sick in the head."

"Why, thank you, Nijima-san." Ren bowed his head in gratitude.

"THIS is what you want to say in front of the judge!? You used a secret world to beat another boy up,steal his money, try to plant him drugs, you tortured a talking cat, you completely destroyed the life of someone who agreed to take care of you and now this!? Do you even realize what is going on!? "

"Well, that IS what happened."

"So let me get this straight:" She loooked at her notes "Ryuji Sakamoto informed you that he got released as after analysis it turned out the drugs you gave him, were in fact candies..."

"Yeah, that was stupid of me back then, but you gotta understand, that was my first time in a palace... I picked stuff from the wrong pocket and..."

"SILENCE!" The prosecutor took a few deep breaths "He continued to inform you that he knows about your possesion of drugs and is going to inform the police about that. That's when you... kidnapped him and Ann Takamaki to that... Palace thing... and...I cannot even finish that."

"Hey, Hey, that's wrong! I did not kidnap Ann Takamaki! She just kinda... showed up! Besides, I just remembered something else. I have to start over again."

"Oh, no..."

 **LINE BREAK**

Ryuji was laying on the ground. He welped as the shadowy silhuette walked to the table filled with all sorts of weapons and dangerous equipment. It searched for a moment, before exchanging crowbar for a baseball bat.

"No...please! DON'T !" the blonde boy begged.

The silhuette stood above him again and raised his weapon.

"WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE!?" Ren Amamiya yelled " DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM!? HOW DARE YOU THREATEN REN AMAMIYA LIKE THAT!"

"I'm sorry... I won't..."

The black haired boy picked him up and handed him his phone.

"Go on, call the cops."

"I-I won't... please, just let me go..."

The other teen grabbed his shoulders and shook violently.

"DO IT! CALL THE GODDAMN POLICE!"

The blonde boy began sobbing again - Ren Amamiya really looked like he lost his mind. With his hands shaking, he called 911. He waited,but there was no response. No signal. He looked up at the other teenager.

"See?" Ren asked calmly, buy with venom in his tone "In a Safe Room, noone can hear your screams..."

And with that , he struck baseball bat through Ryuji's face.

"...ain't that right, Morgana?"

Ren looked at the cat who was tied up and hung by his tail from the ceiling.

"AAAAAARGHH!" A girl's scream suddenly interrupted Ren's delightful ceremony. Everyone present in the room turned around towards the door.

"Ann!" Ryuji tried to get up, but Ren held him down "Help me!"

"You're a murderer!" Ann screamed, looking at Ren with terrified expression.

"Huh?" The teenager looked at the blonde boy who was laying in blood "What do you mean, I didn't kill him yet!?"

"HELP!" Ann turned around and got the attention of some nearby Shadows "Someone Help!"

"Well... goddamn!" Ren yelled as he heard footsteps outside.

 **LINE BREAK**

" So yeah. I told him to call the goddamn POLICE, not goddamn COPS. I would like to change my testimony..."

"You're sick in the head."

"Nijima-san... why are you complimenting me out of sudden... are you...?" Ren moved his eyebrows nonchalantlty.

"JUST SHUT UP AND KEEP TESTIFYING, OR I SWEAR..."

"As you wish..."

 **LINE BREAK**

Ren now found himself in an bigger room, filled with luxurious items and delightful furniture. He dragged Ryuji along with himslelf, trying to catch up with and take revenge on Takamaki, who, still screaming ran straight into another Shadow.

Morgana was still hanging from the ceiling of the Safe Room.

"Princess!? Princess!" The Shadow Screamed

"Huh!?" Was all that Ann managed to say before it grabbed her arm.

"We need to get to the king, my lady!" The Shadow exclaimed "He's missing you very dearly."

"Hey!" Ren yelled "She is mine you rat!"

"Sorry,Kid." The Shadow answered "King's Order."

Ren suddenly felt a great fury taking over him. His vision erupted with red, and his head felt a hundred times heavier. Surprised, he grabbed it with both hands, and with shock noticed something on his forehead, as Ryuji used the opportunity to escape and hide behind a statue of Kamoshida. It was... a mask. Completely surprised, he grabbed it and tried to take it off... It felt like it was glued to his skin with some improbable technology. There was blood on his face. Still, after a few moments of struggling he managed to get it off his face. He smiled with relief, but at the same time he heard a serious, heavy voice coming seemingly from the inside of his own mind.

" _WHAT THE HELL!?"_ The voice asked with anger " _WHO IS THIS KID!? GODDANMMIT, IGOR! I TOLD YOU I WANT TO BE JAYDEN SMITH'S STARTING PERSONA!"_

Suddenly a great fire emanated throughout Ren's body - but it did not hurt him at all. More like it gave him power.

" _TO HELL WITH ALL THIS! - BUT YOU SAID I WILL BE IN AFTER EARTH 2! - WHAT DO YOU MEAN WE ARE NOW TIED WITH HEART, SOUL AND BODY!? AAAAAARGH!"_

The energy was now filling Ren from within.

"You gotta be shittin' me..." Ryuji said from his safe place "I am done for..."

"Whoa..." Morgana, who still was tied to the chandelier and could not see anything, but was judging what was happening by the sounds, muttered "Don't tell me he actually..."

" _UGH! OKAY KID, HERE IS THE DEAL... I, THE PILLAGER OF TWILIGHT, ARSENE, SHAILL LEND YOU MY POWER...FOR NOW. YOU WILL FUSE ME AS QUICKLY AS YOU CAN SO I CAN GET THE EFF OUT! IS THAT CLEAR!?_

Ren Nodded.

" _IN THAT CASE.."_ A figure appeared behind him and pointed to the shadow." _SWING YOUR BLADE! THIS POWER OF MINE IS YOURS!"_

Ren ,guided by the voice, concentrated all the power he suddenly gained on the sword he also somehow got. With a cocky smirk on his face, he selected his target and attacked.

Ryuji could only gasp in fear as the wave of energy hit him.

" _HEY, HEY, HEY! WHAT ON EARTH ARE YOU DOING!?"_

Ren's smile widened.

"This. Is. Awesome."

A few steps away from them, a group of teenagers was observing the scene with their jaws dropped. Finally, a brown, short haired girl with pink glasses slapped a guy who was hiding in a bear costume.

"Dammit, Teddie, this is NOT Yukiko's!

 **LINE BREAK.**

"ENOUGH!" Nijima stood up "I will not listen to this! "

"Why!?" Ren yelled "That is my testimony!"

"You summoned a creature from other dimension and then used it's power to wreck havoc on your psychical education teacher's distorted heart!?"

"That was pretty cool."

"Oh. OK. " Sae Nijima sat back down "Then you must confirm also what happened next?"

 **LINE BREAK**

Ren could not help himself the moment he saw that crown. It was SUPPOSED to be his. He was going to wear it on his head, no matter what. It was just... calling over to him. The boy looked behind himself. Ann Takamaki was following him - but that was not a surprise as Ren tied their bodies with a long rope as a revenge.

"Doggo, come over!"

Ryuji Sakamoto came to him on all fours, and Ren picked the item up and placed it on the boy's back.

"Ow, that hurts..."

"What was that?"

"Nothing! WOOF, WOOF, master!"

"That's better. Remember, if you do well, I may even spare you."

"Go, go, let's go, Kamoshida!"

Suddenly, a volleyball hit the crown and tossed it out of Ryuji's back.

Kamoshida and fake Takamaki - who was all naked and hugging the king - entered the room, both grinning maniacally.

"That bastard..." Ann whispered "That's how he thinks of me, isn't it...?"

"Well" Ren turned to her "He isn't exactly the only one."

The girl looked at him, shocked, but the boy did not have the time to mock her properly, as shadow Kamoshida picked up his Treasure.

"I won't let anyone have this! This proves that I am the King of this castle! It's the Core of this world!" he smiled "And I will dispose of you all right here, right now."

"Nope." The black haired boy said simply.

Something weird happened to Kamoshida - his body began transforming. Soon he wasn't their teacher anymore - only a pinkish monstrosity with crazy yet hypnotic eyes and a long, disgusting tongue.

"HAHAHA!" He screamed "GYAHAHA! I am allowed to do whatever the hell I want! I- WHERE THE HELL DID YOU GET A GUN!?"

"Oh my god..."

"Joker, NOOOOOOOO!" yelled Morgana, who all this time was hanging from the ceiling, and could only listen to the sounds."

 _ **BANG!**_

"Aaah! Kamoshida-sensei,no! why?!" Fake Ann cried desperately as she hugged the man's dead body.

 _ **BANG! x2**_

Ren calmly walked over the creature's corpses and picked up the crown... HIS , the building began shaking.

"It's going down!" Ryuji screamed

The raven haired boy smiled . He calmly raised his gun and pointed it at the other teens.

"Back off, assholes! The treasure is mine! Get it!? Mine, noone elses!"

Some of the chandeliers began falling down as the shaking intensified.

"We need to get out!" Ann screamed, terrified.

"Good luck, I think I saw the exit somewhere there" Ren pointed at a almost completely destroyed part of the castle. He picked up his phone and entered the Navigator app. "I am cheating."

Within a few moments, Ren was home again.

"MEOW! MEOWMEOWMEOWMEOWMEOWME..." Morgana screamed as his ceilling finally collapsed onto the safe room beneath.

 **LINE BREAK**

Sae looked like she was about to leave the room and never come back again. She looked at the boy with pure disgust.

"So you ADMIT to murdering Suguru Kamoshida!?"

"Yes." The teenager sighed "In Hindsight, this might have been a mistake..."

"You don't say."

"I mean, If I knew Takamaki and Sakamoto also have that app, I would start with finishing them off first."

"WHAT!?"

"Huh? Have I lost you, or something? Well, I admit, Kamoshida was a decent human being, but..."

 **"** I...never mind... let's just skip to Junya Kaneshiro case..."

"Woah, woah!" Ren protested "What about Madarame!?"

"Excuse me?" Sae looked confused. The young prosecutor took her notes and studied it quickly. "There is not a single trace that would link you to this case."

Ren nodded.

"I can't blame the police. It has been an extremely easy job."

 **LINE BREAK**

The old artist was carefully studying his pupil's artwork. He smiled with satisfaction. Yes, the boy definitely had talent. There was just the matter of steering... no, _using_ that talent a bit. His thoughts were cut off when he heard a phone ringing.

"Yusuke, my boy! Could you please answer?"

But the boy did not react. Well, he was probably working on another painting. Madarame chose not to disturb him and answered the call.

"Hello?"

" _Ichiryusai Madarame?"_ A young voice asked.

"Yes?"

" _I know who you are and what you do to your pupil."_

Madarame paled.

"Excuse me?"

" _All those paintings aren't really yours, are they? You just use the kid and exploit him."_

"I... T-that's..."

" _I think that's amazing."_

 _"_...excuse me!?"

" _Yeah, the way you treat him like a son and then milk him like a cow... I think it's great."_

"Um... th-thank you?"

" _No problem. I am your greatest fan. In fact, I would like to order some of_ yours _paintings."_

 _"_ Really!?"

 _"Yeah, you can pick whichever you want, I don't care about the cost. Just bring the ones you think are the best to Cafe LeBlanc. Sojiro Sakura will pay for everything."_

 _"_ But... sure you know that those paintings aren't exactly cheap, right?"

" _As I said: Sojiro Sakura will pay for everything, don't worry... but if I could have a word of advice?"_

"Of course!"

" _He paints better when he is hungry."_

 _*_ _ **A FEW DAYS LATER***_

When Sojiro entered the restaurant, he encountered a quite unusual sight - a few men in suits carrying two,maybe three gigantic packages to the attic... to that devil's room. Confused and scared,he ran to them and asked what was going on.

"Are you Sojiro Sakura?" One of the men asked in a rather rude tone.

"Yes, I am."

"Here is a receipt for you."

He handed the old man a piece of paper, and Sojiro felt he is going to pass out.

"Sixteen and a half million yen!?"

"Something wrong?" Ren appeared on the staircase "The room you gave me was rather filthy , so I decided to refreshen it."

"But... those are MADARAME'S paintings..."

"Yes, they are."

"I-I don't even have that half a million yen!"

"You'll figure something out." The kid waved his hand.

"How!?"

"Wait." The boy turned towards the cafe owner "You mean to tell me you really, REALLY do not have those money?"

"YES!"

"Hm..." Ren turned back to face his room. "So I guess your precious Futaba will have to meet her mommy earlier then expected... shame."

Sojiro paled and his eyes widened.

"How do you know about..."

"It's not important." The teen answered calmly "Not anymore."

"NO! PLEASE! I BEG YOU, I'LL DO ANYTHING!"

"I really like those paintings..."

Sojiro took a few deep breaths.

"Okay! Okay, I'll get the money! just... give me some time!"

Ren smiled and walked down. He patted the old cafe owner's shoulder.

"You have two weeks."

 **LINE BREAK**

"So, Nijima-san, have you ever seen any of Madarame's artwork, They're genius, aren't they? Their colours mix so well and..."

"You are sick in the head."

"Oh, come on, are you trying to date me?"

"How could you do all that to Sakura-san?"

"Simply - I thought of a plan, and then I executed..."

"You know what I mean!"

"Well..." Ren bowed his head "You know, Nijima-san, for some people their family is the most important thing there is. " He smiled "So how about now I tell you about how I got Makoto good, hm?"

The young prosecutor stood up rapidly, and her chait fell down. She slammed her fist into the table.

"WHAT!?"


	5. Chapter 5

**A/n And here is the second and last part of "Informative Interrogation" this time introducing... you'll see :D I had a blast writing this chapter (it's my favourite one of this story, if I may say so myself) so I hope you too will enjoy your read.**

 **Chapter 5: Informative Interrogation, part II**

The place usually has been quiet. It had a dense, unfriendly atmosphere, so much so that even the workers preferred not to talk to each other out of fear they will so something wrong. But, it was hard to expect anything else as only the most dangerous criminals were interrogated here. That's why the buzz of an alarm caused everyone to jump.

Goro Akechi, the young detective prince, was on his way to the interrogation room when the alarm sounded. Soon, he was pushed aside by three men in black rushing somewhere.

"Hey, what's going on!?" Goro shouted after them, but they did not bother to answer.

Akechi turned around and noticed a few more men running towards him.

"What's happening!?" he repeated his question.

The apparent leader of the guards, a muscular man with short, spiky black hair turned around to face him.

"They say that prosecutor chick attacked the suspect!"

Akechi gasped. He quickly followed the men. The interrogation room was not far off, and soon he could hear the comotion. However, even he was not prepared for what he saw after he entered the room.

The chair was broken,the desk knocked down, and laying on the floor, Sae Nijima was cursing angrily, choking Ren Amamiya with one hand and trying to fend herself off the guards with the other one.

"No!" Nijima screamed as some of the guards grabbed her shoulders "Let me do this! I have to do this!"

"Come on, Nijima-san." The leader of the guards grabbed her firmly and finally dragged her away "We all want to do this, but you're acting unreasonable."

"Keep her away from me!" Amamiya was gasping for breath "She is insane!"

"AHAHAHAHA!" Nijima laughed maniacally "I AM insane!? LET ME GOOO!" she kicked the air a few times,trying to break free.

"It's okay now, Sae-san". Akechi extended his arms "It's okay."

The young prosecutor was let go and Goro hugged her tightly. Whatever Amamiya did, caused Sae to start crying in his arms.

"Why Makoto,why, why..." she whispered through tears.

"It's okay..."

"I'LL KILL YOU!" Suddenly Nijima broke the hug and tried to attack Ren again, but was grabbed by some guards in the last moment.

"Get her out of here!" The leader ordered his men "Goddammit, I told her his methods are unknown..."

"I'LL KILL YOU!" Sae tried to struggle as she was forcefully dragged out of the interrogation room "I SWEAR TO GOD I'LL KILL YOU!"

Four men were needed to held the young prosecutor and escort her out of the room. Finally, it was achieved,. and the leader of the guards closed the room.

Goro Akechi was the only one who stayed with Ren Amamiya. He looked furiously at the other teen and grabbed him by the shoulders.

"What did you do to Sae-san!?"

"Nothing! I just told her about the day I meet her sister, that's it!"

"What exactly did you tell her!?"

"Well..."

 **LINE BREAK**

"Watch where you're going!" Ren shouted, as someone collided with him.

"Oh." A young, raven-haired girl looked at him with her reddish eyes. She bowed her head " I am sorry, I was just trying to get to Principal's..."

"Dumb idiot. Stupid cow. Retarded..."

"Excuse me!?" The girl's eyes widened "You're Amamiya-kun, aren't you? We don't tolerate this kind of language in Shujin, even from you!"

"Horsefaced poopbrain..."

"I am talking to you!"

"Pathetic parasite..."

"ENOUGH!" the girl was shaking with fury "How DARE you say that!? I'll have you know I am your school president!"

"That's just what the students are saying about you. Sorry."

"What!?" Nijima stuttered. "T-that's not true..."

"Sorry, someone needed to say that to your face. Kobayakawa's lapdog."

"Oh, yeah!?" Makoto shouted. Most of the students turned their heads towards her. "OH, YEAH!? FINE! I QUIT!" She grabbed Yuki Mishima, who was just passing by "Now you can be the school president. We'll see how you like that!"

And with that, Makoto ran to the girl's restroom, crying heavily.

 **LINE BREAK**

"Hm..." Akechi muttered "If that's what you said, maybe Nijima-san overreacted. Though you could have been more polite to the poor girl."

" _I'LL KILL THAT BASTARD!"_ suddenly errupted through the corridors

"But why would the students say something like that about her own..."

"They didn't."

"Excuse me!?" Akechi blinked a few times.

"They loved her as the school president."

"Then why did you..."

"Because I didn't." Ren said calmly.

"You're sick in the head."

"Eeew, dudee! GROSS!"

Akechi looked at him like he wanted to choke the boy himself,but before he could, Ren spoke again.

"But hear me out..."

 **LINE BREAK**

Makoto was siting alone on one of the benches outside the school,with her head burried in her hands. The students were passing her by, not paying any attention to her. Suddenly,she felt being patted in the shoulder.

She raised her head and saw Ren Amamiya extending a hand with a drink.

"What do you want!?" She asked angrily.

"I came to apologize." The boy said with sadness in her tone. "I shouldn't have said all that. I am sorry, Nijima-san."

"Well, that's just what they apparently think about me." Makoto tried not to sound sad.

"Yes it is." Ren sighed and sat next to her "Wanna drink?"

The girl was hesistant for a moment, but smiled weakly and took the can.

"I apologize once again." Ren said "I don't know why I said that. To be clear, I think you're doing great as our president."

"I WAS doing great." Makoto took another sip. "I handed the presidenture over to Yuuki Mishima. Now he will have to deal with all that crap about mafia using our students."

"Say what now?" Ren was unusually interested

"They may even have ties to Yakuza." The girl sighed "I knew it was dangerous, but I wanted to do something so much.."

"Maybe you still can?"

"Huh? What do you mean?... Anyway, I am not the president anymore, Mishima is..."

"Exactly! Let's prove to those low-lives that you were a hundred times better then this zombie boy! I'll help you!"

"Why?" Makoto looked at him surprised.

"Well, because I feel bad for what I did..."

"It's no use..."Makoto sighed again "We don't even know their boss' name."

"Leave that to me." Ren smiled "I'll find it out."

"How?"

"I'll think of something... What do you say... Makoto?"

The girl smiled and looked at him.

"Thank you, Ren."

The boy was quite handsome, although he would look better without those glasses on... oh no, not such thoughts again. Last year Sakamoto and now Amamiya!? She promised herself she will control herself. She decided to break the eye contact before she does something stupid... again. But my, those eyes...

She quickly looked at the can she was holding and gasped in fear, standing up rapidly.

"IS THAT A COLA!?"

"Yeah, what's wrong!?" Ren also stood up.

"I..." She mumbled as she felt something happening in her stomach "I... cannot drink... carbonated..."

"OH, Crap!" Ren shouted "Makoto, I am sorry! I did not know that!"

 **LINE BREAK**

"Just to be clear: I totally knew that."

"So, you promised Nijima help. You aquired her trust, for what purpose... exactly?"

"Well, listen and be entertained:" Ren smiled "Let's fast-forward a few days."

 **LINE BREAK**

"Ren,is that really a good idea?" Makoto asked as the gang members were pushing them forward "Maybe we would be better off calling the police?"

"Calm down, Makoto" Ren said calmly "I have eyerything under my control."

"No talking!" One of the mafia members slapped his head.

"Ren, I am scared..." Makoto whispered.

"No need. I am here with you,after all."

"No talking! One of the mafia members slapped his head again.

"OW! Why are you only beating ME up!?"

"No talking!"

Makoto could not control herself and looked at the boy. In the pale moonlight , his face looked so mature. She felt he would protect her always and anywhere. The girl could not wait until they get out of here and she will drown in his strong, manly embrace...

"Amamiya-kun? Is that you?" Came a voice as they entered a room.

"It is me, Kaneshiro-sensei." Ren bowed down so hard he almost touched the floor with his head "It is a honour to see you again."

"Sit down, my boy."

A fat,ugly man smiled at the teenager and patted the seat next to him. The women around the fat man giggled with joy.

"No,thank you. I'll stand."

"Oh,Amamiya ,always so tactful..."

Makoto was observing all that, not understanding what was going on.

"I brought a girl again, Kaneshiro-sensei." Ren said "She'll be perfect for that OTHER buissness of yours."

"REN-KUN!?" Makoto looked at him with shock

"Is that our little miss student council president?" Kaneshiro gave her a ugly smile "Sister of prosecutor Sae Nijima?"

"Indeed it is."

"Well then, mrs. Nijima... it appears we have work for you."

Makoto paled and gave Ren a pleading look, but the boy just smirked.

"Take her away, boys. Our clients are waiting"

Two muscular men grabbed Makoto from both sides. She tried to struggle and break free, but the men escorted her out of the room.

"NO! REN, PLEASE!"

Ren started laughing, and Kaneshiro soon joined in.

"How do you do it, Kid? You're clearly my best man for this job."

"It's all thanks to my natural charm."

Kaneshiro smirked and opened one of the suitcases.

"You did good. As always, 25 yen is yours..."

"Don't need it, sensei. I am not doing this for money."

"Oh, what are you doing it for, then?"

"Fun."

Kaneshiro laughed out loud.

"Oh, Amamiya-kun,you're just like a son to me."

 **LINE BREAK**

"YOU DID WHAT!?" Akechi screamed in Ren's face.

"What's the big deal?" Ren answered "At least she has a job!"

"You forced her to be a prostitute!"

"SO!?"

Akechi took a few deep breaths.

"At least, the justice system got you. There is no way you won't get death penalty."

"WHAT!?" Ren stood up rapidly "DEATH PENALTY!? FOR WHAT!?"

Goro grinned maniacally.

"It's no use wasting prison space for people like you."

Akechi reached into his pocket and grabbed something - a gun. The black haired boy sat back down and gasped in fear.

"Have you finally figured it out?" Akechi smirked "Case closed, this is how your insanity ends... what are you laughing at!?"

"You don't have the balls to do this, Goro Akechi..." Ren smiled deviously "Or should I rather say: Goro Shido?"

Akechi/Shido dropped his gun.

"H-how do you..."

"You have your ways of knowing stuff if you're me." Ren stood up "Always the unwanted one, huh, Goro Akechi? Not loved by your father, not liked by other kids..."

"STOP IT!" the detective took a few steps back.

"... Considered a freak by the detective society, hell even Sae Nijima secretly hates your cheap attempts at flirting, and you know it, don't you?"

"NO!" the other boy fell to his knees and covered his ears.

Ren calmly picked up his gun.

"Your own father called you a bastard child, didn't he? Is this why you hate people, Goro? Out of jealousy? Is this why you became a murderer? Because you somehow thought people will appreciate you?"

Goro looked at Ren with terror on his face.

"Oh yeah, I know that too,don't I?" Ren began toying with the gun "You say I am evil? That I am a maniac? Sick in the head? What about your own deeds?

"I-i..."

"You pretend to be this amazing, wonderful detective, yet in reality are just a mercenary who eliminates his targets where they can not even defend themselves. And you say we're different?

"I... am not like you! I can't be!"

"Oh, but you are! You want to bring justice? To punish evildoers?" Ren handed him the gun "Then do what you think needs to be done. Unless you are a coward after all."

Goro looked at the gun in his hands. After a few moments he slowly brought it to his head.

"Do it." Ren smiled "Prove to me that you are this great detective who punishes criminals . The one you dreamed to be."

The other boy started welping. He felt his finger touching the trigger. He saw Amamiya's cocky smile. He...

Suddenly, he dropped the gun. Without looking at Ren he turned around and ran from the interrogation room, crying heavily.

"Goro!" Ren picked the gun "Goro, you forgot something!"

He wondered for a minute, and decided to put the gun in his pocket. Calmly, Ren walked towards his chair and sat back down. The boy turned his face towards one of the cameras in the room.

"Hello!? I am still here! I'd like to be interrogated,please!"

But as noone came for 5... 10... 20 minutes, Ren stood up. He opened the door, and then the building undisturbed by anyone.

 **LINE BREAK**

 **"** C'mon... faster... faster..." Ren muttered watching the TV

He did that continuosly, getting the attention of not only Sojiro Sakura, but all two of his customer's.

"What are you waiting for?" Sojiro risked to ask.

Ren turned to face him with dead eyes and the man gulped, but all the kid did this time was point to the TV.

" _Those are today's Headline News"_ A young woman was hosting the news report _: "Yakuza memebers Akihiko S. and Mitsuru K. have been arrested in Inaba, following yesterday's police raid."_ The camera first showed a young, muscular man with tatoos covering most of his body and then a red-haired woman of similar age, who was sticking her pierced tongue towards the camera with insane look in her eyes " _Those two dangerous criminals were probably send to Inaba to silence Yu Narukami, a key witness in the case revolving a drug-dealing scheme involving the death of news reporter Mayumi Yamano. for his own safety Yu Narukami is living with one of the police officers, Ryotaro Dojima, who is posing as his uncle. They currently reside in Inaba's Lowers Street, house number 14. However, due to the case still being unresolved, and he still can be in danger, Yu Narukami's privacy must be respected and all details on his whereabouts are restricted."_

 _"Recently"_ a man added " _There has been some new controversies surrounding the case, as it has been discovered Dojima's daughter Nanako might be the mastermind of said murder.."_

"GOD DAMMIT FASTER!" Ren yelled, causing everyone to jump and Sojiro to wince in fear.

" _Another breaking top-story is about the arest of the artist Madarame after his only pupil, Yusuke Kitagawa, has been found dead in his room, and the doctors confirmed the cause of death to be starvation..."_

 _"I have to interrupt you."_ The man interrupted her " _We have news that the detective prince Goro Akechi is ready to start his, suddenly called, press conference. We're moving there to see what he has to say."_

"Finally!" Ren yelled "Now everyone be quiet, or I'll get angry."

The room was still empty, with some people correcting the position of the microphone, however the flashes as the newsmen were taking pictures were already quite heavy. Judging by the voices, not only media were allowed in, but at least some of Akechi's teenage fangirls somehow made their way inside.

Rapidly, Goro Akechi entered the scene, with the cameras being able to catch the glimpse of someones hand, clearly trying to stop the boy for the last time.

As soon as Goro turned to the audience, it was clear something was wrong: His brown hair were messy, and apparently wrenched in places. His shirt was blotchy and the buttons weren't exactly buckled. His pants weren't even present.

Some of the girls screamed in terror.

 _"Thank you all for coming here."_ Goro started with a trembling tone _"Tonight I have a very important announcement to make."_

Everyone got quiet.

 _"I am the cause of all recent mental shutdowns."_

The room erupted with voices, some expressing their disapproval, some disbelief, and some trying to ask a question.

 _"That's right. It was me. But let me just say that I was not the one ordering those incidents."_

 _"Who was it then!?"_ A young reporter asked.

 _"Someone more powerful then me."_

 _"This... person... did he or she order all of the attacks?"_

 _"Yes, that's ri..."_ suddenly Goro stuttered _"No. Not all of them. The first time I did this I was fueled by nothing else but my very own jelousy and greed. I-i."_ His voice started to crack _"I wanted to be appreciated too... I am so,so sorry... I know nothing I say or do will bring Naoto Shirogane back to life... but... but... but..."_

The boy could not take the pressure anymore. He turned around and started to cry visibly. Everyone in the room fell quiet.

 _"Can you tell us who was it that ordered the mental shutdowns?"_ A reporter asked calmly.

Goro took a few moments to calm down,but nodded his head.

 _"That's the least I can do after all this... It was..."_ Suddenly, he stopped and grabbed his throat.

"OH! HERE IT COMES!" Ren could not hide his excitement

"Here comes what?" Sojiro asked

Akechi was visibly chocking, and some black substance started to come out of his mouth, nose and ears. The public was terrified.

 _"EEEEWWWW!"_ screamed some of Akechi's fangirls.

The boy's body began convulsing, until he finally fell on the floor.

 _"Dear God! Akechi-kun!"_

Ren turned around and started jumping around the restaurant and beating his chest triumphantly. Finally he pointed at the TV.

"YEES! MENTAALL SHUUUTDOOOWN!"

"Dear God!" Sojiro screamed "This kid just died on live TV"

"I know! Ren shouted! And it might all been thanks to me!"

Dancing, the boy reached the stairs to his room.

"WAIT!" Sojiro shouted after him "What do you mean it has been thanks to you?"

Ren turned around.

"You don't want to know."

The boy entered his room. Another point for Ren Amamiya.


	6. Chapter 6

A/n **Well,how about it? Another chapter only two days after the previous one! This one's pretty short, almost the shortest one. However I decide to upload it today as I don't think I would have enough time to write and upload it next week. Also, it may be good,it might be bad, but I decided to return to classic writing style of this story. Judge for yourselfes! But yeah that's it from me so far, enjoy your read!**

Ren decided to rest for some time on one of the benches outside of the school. The boy was actually in the middle of an thought-provoking read of "The Catcher in the Rye". It was not the first time he read that particular book, but it always inspired him to achieve great things. It even happened a few days ago. As soon as he started to read, he felt a tremendous need to murder people yet again. So he opened the nav app and entered phases "Goro Akechi," "Normal House" and "Beloved Son." He smiled as he remembered the screams of Cognitive Mr. and Mrs. Akechi...

"Hey, there is something i need to talk to you about."

Ren looked up from his lecture and noticed the blonde girl, Ann Takamaki.

"Me?"

"It's Shiho."

The boy stared at her dumbfounded and blinked a few times.

"Who the hell is Shiho?"

Ann sighed and sat on the bench next to him. She looked down with sadness clear in her eyes. The girl looked like she was about to cry.

"I visited her in the hospital yesterday. She said she was sorry..."

"Well, it's pretty damn hard not to feel sorry for you, get out of here!"

"But it was my fault, too. So i also apologized to her..."

"I don't care!"

"But about Kamoshida..." She sobbed "All those things he was doing for her... he even bought a new car for her! A car! And you got rid of him! No wonder she jumped from the school rooftop when she found out he died!"

Ren closed his book and looked in the distance.

"Shiho..." Ann welped "She was really looking forward to that "initiation day dance party" Kamoshida promised her too..."

"Sorry, I gotta go." The teenager picked his book up and muttered "She completely ruined my buzz... I was so looking to enter Sakamoto's palace today."

 **LINE BREAK**

Ren was suddenly woken up by his head colliding rapidly with something hard. He opened his eyes and managed to notice his bed dematerialize in front of him. The boy sat down and massaged the back of his head.

"First off, I'd like to congratulate you." A deep voice said.

"Oh no ,you gotta be shitting me..." Said the boy as he stood up

"You have encountered allies who share your aesthetics, and you have found out your place in reality."

"Huh? You mean the Yakuza?"

"The time has come!" Igor said triumphantly "Your rehabilitation will begin very soon!"

"No, it won't!" Ren looked to his left and tried to lay on his bed, only to notice there wasn't a bed anymore. He noticed it when he hit the floor with his head again.

"No escape No escape No escape There is no escape..." Caroline whispered and took a few steps away from Igor.

"What rehabilitation!?" Ren yelled "Let me go, you maniac!"

"I shall explain it to you right now." Igor smied widely and stood up.

"AAAARGH!" Caroline and Justine yelled in terror at the same time and jumped away from the old man, but apparently he wasn't going to bother them at the moment. With a smile, he approached Ren's cell.

"You have a special potential, however this must be refined into a useful power. It is weak right now, but refining it shall grant you power to oppose the ruin that is oncoming."

"What ruin...? H-hey, what are you doing!?"

"You better treasure this moment, Inmate" Caroline whispered weakly as the man was coming closer and closer to the boy.

"No...No...No..." Ren whispered and took step after step back until he touched the wall "Stay the hell away from me! I don't want your power! Let me go! SOMEONE HELP!" The boy shouted and began hitting the wall.

"We will now learn..." Igor grabbed the bars "How to fuse Personas. Please pick up your text book and open it on the page 32."

A book suddenly materialized in front of the boy

"Wait, so that's what you wanted to do?"

"Of course, what did you thought I was going to do with you?" Igor chuckled "As you know, the ultimate form of powers you can create are called Horcruxes. However, because one stupid asshole decided to ruin the fun for the rest of us wizards " Igor raised his tone " And created SEVEN of them without being able to even hide them properly, PETA found out about his snake and forced the government to ban them" The old man had fury in his eyes "We will have to make do with the stupid power of the heart bullcrap!"

Ren opened the book on page 32

Suddenly, he felt enraged and heard a voice from within.

" _REMEMBER OUR DEAL,BOY! FUSE ME! FUSE ME!"_

"Wait a second, here they say that to fuse a Persona, You will have to..." Ren looked at Igor. The man's smile widened, and the girls behind paled drastically. "You absolute sicko!"

" _FUSE ME!"_

Igor's facial expression changed.

"Huh? What's wrong!?" The old man asked with worry

"Here it says you have to execute a _kinky combo_! I don't even WANT to know what that is!"

"Oh, my!" Igor chuckled "It appears I made a mistake. That book was mine. Dreadfully sorry, Trickster"

Ren's book disappeared and reappeared in Igor's hands, while the boy soon found himself with another, shorter book.

"See? What a funny mistake." Igor chuckled "Here they say all you have to do is execute your Persona."

" _WHAT!?"_

 _"_ Well, I admit it, this sounds like a better method." Ren sighed with relief.

" _HEY, KID! CAN YOU HEAR ME!? DON'T YOU EVEN_ _ **THINK**_ _ABOUT FUSING ME! KID!? HELLO!? KIIIIDDD!"_

A few moments ago, Ren happily found himself with two new Personas, and even Igor seemed happy with his progress. Finally, the old man re-materialized his bed and finally allowed the boy to sleep. Ren had to admit that the whole experience has been rather informative. Although he still wondered about the "Kinky Combo" part, as well as Caroline's and Justine's exact role in the Velvet Room.

 **LINE BREAK**

"Three times, Joker."

As soon as Ren woke up he was meet with an angry stare of a black-furred cat. The boy grunted with annoyance.

"I died three times in the Palace's Colapse."

"And I told you not to call me Joker!"

"I don't care!" The cat suddenly struck it's paws through the young man's face

"OW! You little... what was that for!?"

"SILENCE! I have enough! From now on, we do things MY way!"

"Oh yeah? I wonder how exactly are you going to make me coopera-"

Morgana suddenly grabbed Ren by his hair and shook him dramatically. That, of course, hurt like hell.

"I have my ways!"

"Okay." Ren grunted "Okay, that is actually pretty convincing" He smirked "But only until I stand up."

"And you think I haven't thought of that?" The cat's face turned towards the stairs "You can come in now!"

Ren heard some heavy breathing alongside with someone's footsteps coming up on the stairs, and soon, a young girl about his age entered the room. She had short, brown wavy hair, a serious look on her face and completely dead eyes. Under her pink sweater and white shirt, she clearly had very well developed muscles. On one of her forehead, she had a tatoo that compromised of a drawing of skull and bones and the words "No Mercy" written around it

"Is that the guy?" The girl asked with a voice of 40-something sumo wrestler.

Ren gulped.

"May I introduce?" Morgana smiled with revenge "Haru Okumura, known better as Harru Mercenarru. Ren Amamiya, known better as Jackass... I mean, Joker."

"Nice to meet you." Ren was sure Haru's handshake broke some of his fingers.

"So, yeah." Morgana was waving his tail with excitement. "I am sure you two will become great friends. "

Ren gulped again.


	7. Chapter 7

**a/n Another chapter for you guys! I actually had a sort of writer's block for the first time since I'm writing this (although I LOVED writing the Haru parts) , but I still hope you will enjoy your read. I will probably upload chapter 8 around the same time next week, so stay tuned!**

"You're late, Joker." Morgana lazily turned his head towards the boy, who just entered the room with another fat tuna on the plate "Haru, can you please convince him to hurry up next time?

"Wrrrr..." Haru muttered and reached out for the boy.

"NO! MONA-SAN, PLEASE!" Ren backed a few steps away "I'LL BE QUICKER! I'LL GET BETTER FISH FOR YOU NEXT TIME! PLEASE, DON'T MAKE HER DO THIS AGAIN!"

"Haru, please pick up the plate and bring it here."

The muscular 18-year old grabbed the plate forcefully, almost making Ren collapse in the process and handed it over to the cat, who was laying like a king in Ren's bed. Morgana smiled, but then looked at the young man with a stern expression.

"Dismissed." Morgana said harshly.

"But Morgana-sensei." The boy bowed down "Where am I supposed to go? This is my room..."

"No, this is **MY** room now." The cat hissed "Go get me some fish. Do you want Haru to show you the way to the fridge?"

"But you already have a fish right there..."

"JOOOOKKKKEEERRRR!"

"YES!" The boy bowed down three times "I'm going! One plate full of extra fatty tunas coming right up!"

Ren turned around as quickly as possible and, terrified, ran downstairs with great speed. Haru turned to the cat.

"Geez, Mona-chan." The girl said in her manly voice and sat near the cat, causing the bed to shift considerably "I appreciate your generous payment, but that boy is a chicken. Are you really sure you need my assistance? Not to mention, I have a target in Seychelles I should be working on now."

"Don't worry, Haru. I know about your busy schedule... after all, with such reputation, how could it be any different. I will pay you tripple for that job."

"Where did you get all those money from, though?"

"Crafting."

"Oh."

"Besides, remember what I told you?About your father's palace? We can do it, Haru. As soon as we teach Joker a lesson, we can enter Okumura's Palace and will be able to change his heart."

"And then I won't have to marry that bastard?"

"Exactly!"

"Well then, I'll be counting on you, Mona-chan."

At the same time, Ren entered the attic once again, this time holding a gigantic plate full of Sprats The plate was truly huge, and the boy had problems keeping his balance. Finally he reached the bed and placed the plate right before the cat.

"What the hell is this?" Morgana hissed,

"Sprats..." Ren whispered and winced in fear,

"IS THIS A JOKE!?" Morgana angrily flipped the plate "You were supposed to get me some tuna!:"

"There isn't anymore tuna!" Ren fell to his knees "Mona-san, please!"

"HARRRUUUU!"

"NO! I Beg you! Sojiro, HELP!"

Haru calmly stood up, as Ren backed up against the wall. The girl roled her sleeves up, and Ren could clearly see how muscular her hands really were. She slowly approached Ren step after step, and the boy felt he was about to collapes from fear.

"Finish him, Haru!" Morgana yelled.

The girl raised her fist, but at the same time quick steps were heard on the staircase and Sojiro entered the room, panicked.

"What's wrong!?" The man asked "I heard some shouting!"

The old man and Haru looked at each other for the first time. At the moment their eyes meet, the teenager slowly lowered her fist. The two stood there for a good moment, doing nothing but looking at each other.

"Oh..." Sojiro finally stuttered "I didn't know you had a guest."

"Yes." Haru said in a absent voice "He invited me."

"Well then." The old man took a few steps towards her. "May I?"

Sakura gently picked her hands and kissed both of her palms.

"My name is Sojiro Sakura." The old man said, not letting go of Haru's hands "I am the owner of this restaurant."

" **Duuuudeee..."** Ren muttered slowly, observing the scene.

"Haru Okumura." The girl blushed a bit "Pleasure to meet you, Sakura-san."

"No, no, the pleasure is all mine."

 **"...whaaatt..,"** Morgana muttered just as slowly, if not slower.

"Forgive me if I sound... wrong, but... I never suspected this Kid" Sojiro glanced at the teenage boy and finally let go of Haru's palms "Would be friends with someone so... charming."

For some reason, Haru giggled stupidly, covering her mouth with one of her hands.

 **"...the..."** Ren's eyes were as wide as the plate he brought to the room

"You don't really mean that, Sakura-san." Haru finally said, her face now as red as a tomato.

"Of course I do!" The man kissed her hand again "Your charm outweights even the charm of the most beautiful butterfly, flying lonely above the forest in the search of Hope."

"Oh, Sakura-san..." Haru giggled again

"What do you say if I were to invite you downstairs for some coffe and curry? I know a few special recipes... I'll lock the store, too."

"Well... I guess I can't say no to such... intriguing man."

"Well then, shall we?" Sojiro gesticulated for Haru to go first. Soon, they both vanished downstairs, not paying attention to the boy or the cat.

 **"...Hell!?"** Morgana and Ren said in unison.

 **LINE BREAK**

Ren was not happy. Within less then a week, the relationship between Sojiro and Haru intensified so much, that now the man allowed someone three times younger to call him "Soji-kun." Maybe he would be able to at least tolerate it, hadn't Sojiro constantly sneak in to his room at nights - after, supposedly, closing the shop and leaving -to browse through Ren's stuff and picking up souvenir's for Haru. Ren actually warned the old man that the next time he does that it will be his last, but Sojiro only murmured something about "True love conquering death itself" and told him to shut up, causing the boy to lose his sense of advantage over the old bartender.

Having someone who constantly cheats at his favourite game in the Arcades and insta-kills him exactly five seconds after starting a new game didn't help his mental situation either. He was actually passing near the arcade, when he heard a conversation that interested him, so the boy decided to enter,

"Who's that kid?" A young man asked his friend.

"That's the King. He's amazing." The other boy replied.

"Oh, I heard about him! He's just a little guy, though... must still be in grade school..."

The King suddenly paused the game. He slowly turned around, revealing himself to be a kid about 7-8 years younger then Ren.

"Whom are you calling a little guy?" He neared at the young man and raised his gun-game controller "Want a solo, asswipe?"

"No. please!" The teenager raised his hands and backed away from the gun. "I was just joking! You're the best, Shinya-san!"

"That's what I thought." The boy, Shinya, nodded and returned to his game.

Ren observed the scene with interest.

"He's dualwielding?" Somebody else asked with disbelief.

"Yeah. He's playing two opponents at once - and it's still too easy for him."

The black haired boy took a few steps forward.

"I'd like to play with you."

The King turned around once again and carefully eyed Ren with an condemning look on his face. Finally, he snorted and turned back to the screen.

"No, thanks." The boy said "I don't play with peasants."

Everyone gasped, and Ren felt red on the face.

"What did you just call me?"

"You heard me, cocksucker. Get the fuck out of here." The boy responded without turning around.

"Hey!" Ren hissed "Watch your language, Kid!"

"Suck a dick, retard."

"You little..." Ren grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him a few times "Do you know who I am!? You have no idea what happens to the people who cross me."

"What part of _go eat shit_ don't you understand?"

"That does it!" Ren pushed him forcefully, causing the kid to drop the controllers and a game over sound emanated from the machine.

"I lost the fucking game because of you, shitbrain!" Shinya kicked him in the groin.

"OOOWWW!" Ren bent down in pain "You...punk..."

"That's right, just bent down, faggot." The 9 year oldboy calmly picked the controllers returned to the machine.

Ren turned his eyes to the machine and something... something didn't feel right. It all came together in his brain when he noticed the nickname the King used in the game. He immediately stood back up.

"You... YOU'RE THE CHEATER..." he pointed at the younger boy in a dramatic way.

The room instantly felt quiet. The boy paused the game. He slowly turned around again.

"If I am, then what?"

"What!?" Ren was furious "You ruined my entertainemnt!"

"Maybe I am the goddamn cheater, and maybe I am not. Not one of your fucking buissness, shitty n00b."

Ren could not control himself anymore. Sojiro's situation, the kid's rudeness, Takamaki getting a better score in the midterms... it all added up and now, finally the volcano named Ren Amamiya was about to explode."

"I WILL KILL YOOOOUUUU!"

Before the King could react, he was being attacked from behind. Ren Amamiya jumped on his back, which of course caused the nine year old to fall over. He tried to get up, but the teenager held him down. Somehow, a 1vs1 mode in the game was activated.

With his free hand, Ren grabbed one controller and shoot a few times in the direction of the screen. He did not do massive damage, but he scored 200 points. Despite thinking he was starting to get the hang of it, the teen stoped abruptly when he was forced to drop the controller after a kick to the jaw sent him to the ground.

"Fucking asshole!" Shinya grunted, but managed to get the controller from the floor "I will fucking rip your throat open!"

The young boy changed the hands in which he was holding the "gun" and pointed to the screen. He instantly dealt 500 points worth of damage

"AAARRGGGHH!" Ren yelled in pain, seeing his character's life bar going down more and more. He grabbed the King's hair and started to pull it. He managed to wrench some of them, but he quickly tossed them away and landed a gigantic punch on the boy's cheek, causing him to wince in pain and drop the controller

"You're dead, kid!" Ren, laying on his back, pointed at the screen. Another 800 points meant Shinya's health was halfway depleted.

"Son of a bitch!" The King was now laying on top of him, trying to get the controller back "I will bathe in your guts for the rest of my goddamn life!"

He managed to win back the device after his knee deeply entered Ren's stomach. However, the moment he scored 500 points more, he was pushed heavily and sent to the other end of the room.

Using this occassion, Ren managed to score 600 points more, when Shinya attempted to do the same with him. The teenager managed to counter the attack, but in the process he lost the controller which now was directly between them. The boys looked each other in the eyes and jumped at the same time.

Ren was the faster one. He managed to grab the controller. With three shots, he brought Shinya's life bar to the minimum.

The public - which by now was estimated to be around 500 people - gasped as Ren pointed at the screen again. But then, he heard some quiet sobs behind him. He turned around.

"Please..." Shinya had tears in his eyes and was shielding himself with one hand "Please... I don't wanna die..."

Ren's hand trembled a bit. and felt his finger... unwilling to cooperate. So he decided to hold the gun in his other hand.

"You... wouldn't shoot a child, would you?" The King begged, tears strolling down his cheek.

Ren took a good look at his opponent. That's true, Shinya did piss him off. And insult him. And apparently thought the whole death battle thing was for real. And he was also a cheater- someone who the Teenager hated the most. But he was still a kid.

"Please... have mercy"

The way he was pleading for mercy was almost pathetic. Mercy. It almost reminded Ren of something else... oh, that's right, the way some Shadows tried to beg him in the Metaverse. He looked at the boy. And smiled.

"AAAARRRRRGHHHHHH!" Shinya yelled as his character on the screen died a painful death "What have you doonnnee!? Oh my God, Oh my God... YOU HAVE KILLLEEED MEEEEE!"

Ren calmly put down the controllers and looked at the crying kid.

"That will teach you not to cheat."

"NO! NO! NO!" Shinya cried,pounding his fists against the floor "Now everyone will know that I'm a zero!"

"Of course you are."

Ren nodded to the boy and then went to answer some questions, as a few news anchors showed up to interview him.

 **LINE BREAK**

For some unknown reason, the next day at School Ren felt like he achieved something great yesterday. Also, according to the news, over 200people were killed or injured during a skyscraper fire in Osaka. The morning could not have started better for Ren Amamiya. However, he wasn't prepared to what he was about to see. A familiar face - yet not the one he grew used to see in the school, was kneeling a few steps before him, and apparently, sniffing flowers.

"Oh, hello, Amamiya-kun." Haru Okumura noticed him and smiled "It's a nice day, isn't it?"

"Yes." Ren suddenly felt less confident. He wanted to say something, but was way too terrified.

"Those flowers smell so beautiful..." The girl sniffed again.

"Did... Morgana... send you?" Ren managed to ask.

"Huh?" The girl looked at him and blinked a few times

And then, for the first time, Haru Okumura laughed. And because her laugh was more similar to the one of a laugh of fully grown male then 18 year old teenager, something in it spooked Ren even more.

"No, it's nothing like that." Haru stood up "I don't do stuff like that anymore. I transferred here."

Now it was the boy's time to blink.

"Transfer? You mean, like..."

"Yes, of course. I am 18 years old, after all." Suddenly, she seemed upset "Listen, I am sorry about before. Mona-chan paid me good money... but I really am done with this stuff for good. I won't bully you anymore."

"That's good, but why... if I may ask?"

Haru laughed again.

"Oh, silly Amamiya-kun. I can't keep doing this. Me and Soji-kun have to get everything prepared, after all."

Some alarm bells ringed in the boy's mind

"Wait... prepared for what?"

Haru raised her eyebrows and looked at the teenager like he was mentally handicapped. Soon however, her new , honest and creepy smile returned to her face.

"Well, for our wedding, duh! You're such a dummy sometimes, Ren-kun!" she shook her head "Anyway, I'd better get going, I have I.T next! Feel invited to our wedding!"

And with that, Ren was left with his mouth hanging open, until the muscular silhuette of Haru Okumura vanished from his line of sight. He suddenly felt the tremendous need to sit down, but there weren't any benches, so he just slid down the wall. The boy brought his hands to his face and closed his eyes.

"Dude..." Ren whispered "I don't follow this shitty storyline at all..."


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N Wow, Ren really has it tough right now, doesn't he? I can't blame him for reacting that way, I'd probably do the same thing :D**

 **With that being said, welcome to chapter 8 of this story and first of all I'm sorry for such a long break, but first, I got a bit sick, and then my computer broke and I had to send it to be repaired... Well, I am not going to bore you with details, I just want to announce I am back and wish you a happy reading :D**

 **Oh, and if you also read my other story and wonder about the next chapter, don't worry, I think it'll appear early next week. I thought about updating that other story first but decided that since I started work on this one earlier I thought it would be better to update this one first.**

 **So enjoy:D**

Ren desperately turned from side to side on his bed. The sound of Sojiro's and Haru's laughter and loud music coming from downstairs was irritating, especially since it was 3:00 in the morning and he had school tomorrow. The boy opted out from putting a pillow on his face when he was starting to run out of breath and, resigned, turned to his back and looked at the celling.

"This has gone far enough, Joker" A voice exclaimed "You have to do something."

"Oh!?" Ren sat up and looked at the cat laying in the opposite end of the room "Do you want me to remind you why this is happening in the first place!?"

"Hey, don't make me out to be the bad guy here!" Morgana hissed and stood up. "You're the one who tossed me towards the bottom of Mementos and indirectly killed me. Three times."

"What are you even doing here!? I thought I tossed you out of the window!"

"You did." The cat began to lick his fur "But I came back."

The teenager looked at the cat as if it was crazy.

"Dude, are you some kind of masochist or something? Get outta here!"

"Not until you help me get to the bottom of Mementos and locate the source of the Distortions!"

"The what-now?"

Morgana shook his head with disbelief.

"Come on, even you had to notice. Something is wrong with the storyline. This is not how the plot should progress."

"What are you talking about!? What _plot!?_ Everything is as it should be!"

"OH, SOJI, I WANT YOU!" Haru screamed downstairs in her voice of 30-something sumo wrestler.

"Okay, almost everything..."

"Joker, don't you get how serious this is? If we won't fix whatever is causing those distortions to happen, then we..." Morgana stopped dramatically.

"Wait." Ren paled "You don't mean to say that we'll die, do you?"

"No, worse." The cat shook his head "We may never find out who the true culprit behind the mental shutdowns is."

Ren looked at the cat and blinked a few times. Then, he simply laid back and burst out with laughter.

"What!?" Morgana screamed angrily "What is so funny? Joker, this is serious!"

"I-i..." The boy had difficulties speaking "Oh my god… I already know who the True Culprit is, you dumb cat! It was that Akechi guy! Don't worry, though, I already found his Palace and got rid of him."

"You did what!?"

"Y-yeah!" The teenager was nearly crying with laughter. "Can you believe that what he desired was just… a normal house!?" The boy erupted with laughter as he remembered the look on Cognitive Ms. Akechi's face when she found the body.

Suddenly, something heavy collided with his face.

"OW! YOU LITTLE..."

"JOKERYOUIDIOTYOUWERENOTSUPPOSEDTOKILL..."

"LET GO OF MY HAIR!"

Suddenly, quick footsteps were heard on the staircase and soon, Sojiro Sakura and Haru entered the attic.

"Hey, keep it down, will you?" Sojiro asked angrily, completely ignoring the cat on the boy's head "We can hear you even from downstairs!"

Morgana put his little paws on Ren's eyes, causing him to lose his balance and fell on the bed.

"Now then." Sojiro spoke "I was going to tell you this in the morning, but since you're awake… Kid, you'll be living on the streets from now on."

Ren instantly tore Morgana away from his face

"WHAT!?"

"I spoke to Haru and we decided that this will be her room from now on. She needs to have a place to stay until I finish preparing my house for her to move in."

"You can't do this! I'm a minor!"

"I am really sorry for this, Ren-kun." Haru bowed down "But you know, it's not that bad. I'm sure there is a homeless shelter that will take you in. Of course, you're still invited to our wedding."

"I… what about my parents!? They paid you to keep me away from them!"

"Oh, I am sure they would understand… Oh, right, about your parents… Your mother called. She said your father has cancer."

"WHHAAAAAT!?"

"Yeah, I did not quite hear correctly, I was busy with Haru." Sojiro smiled to himself "IBut t was either cancer or common cold."

"Well then, shall we go?" Haru blinked towards Sojiro.

"Of course, Milady." The man kissed her cheek and they slowly walked downstairs, hand in hand.

Ren regained his thoughts and quickly sprinted after them, but they were already downstairs.

"You are going to regret this moment, old man!" the teen shouted at the top of his lungs

"See?" Morgana asked "This has to be stopped. So how about we form an alliance? I help you get rid of Haru, then you help me with my problem. What do you say?"

"What do I say?" Still angry, the boy picked up the cat and walked towards the window "Goodbye, Morgana."

 **LINE BREAK**

The rain was extremely heavy, even for late September. Ren was already completely soaked with water, and he preferred not to think about the condition of the stuff in his backpack (Sojiro did not give him a suitcase when kicking him out). Still, they were definitely in a better shape then the stuff he was forced to carry in his hands.

Ren was desperate, angry, and hungry. The guy did not open the door, too. Angrily, the teenager kicked them a few times, and that finally got him a reaction.

"Okay, okay, I'm coming!" A voice said from inside the house.

Ren sighed with relief and took the hoodie off. He heard some footsteps, and soon the doors opened, revealing a person inside.

"Yeah, do you need some– HOLY SHIT!"

"Yo, Sakamoto." Ren waved his hand. "You won't believe this… Sojiro Sakura kicked me out of the house."

The blonde did not reply, only backed away in fear.

"Yeah, I know that's unbelievable" Ren continued "I mean, what have I even done to him, right? Well, but the point is I kinda don't have anywhere to go, so I just thought, you know, maybe I could stay with you for a few days..."

"Huh?" Ryuji took a few steps forward "Dude, but I hate you!"

Ren shrugged his shoulders.

"And that's why you won't let me stay for a few days? Come on, what is wrong with you? I mean, what am I supposed to do? Go live with the Shadows in Mementos?"

"How do you even know where I live!?"

"That was easy, I was simply spying on you since..."

"You what!? What the F, man!?"

"It's kind of cold, mind If I come in?"

The black haired boy took a few steps, but Ryuji suddenly blocked his path with a hand.

"Uh-Uh. No way, dude."

"Ryuji, please!" Ren asked "I am cold and I am hungry and..."

Suddenly, the doors slammed shut in front of his face.

"Oh, yeah!? OH, YEAH!? Fine, you asshole!" Ren screamed "I am now going to your Palace for sure!"

" _UP YOURS, PSYCHO!"_ Ryuji shouted from the other side.

Ren let go of his stuff and started pounding on the doors.

"Sakamoto, open right now! I am NOT going to live in a homeless shelter! I know you can hear me! OPEN THE DOOR!

Suddenly, the boy heard what was similar to a chuckle coming from his backpack. He slowly turned around and opened the bag.

"He's not gonna let you in, is he?" Morgana smiled vengefully .

"Not your buisness!" Ren shut the backpack again.

"If only there was a way you could get rid of Haru." Morgana teased from inside of the backpack

"Oh, I will get rid of her for sure." Ren replied, looking around for a fast-driving car.

"How? You're homeless, friendless..."

At this moment, a brilliant idea erupted in the teenager's head. He smiled with his trademark evil smirk no #27, and nodded to himself while crossing the street.. He's not really friendless, is he?

"Thanks for the idea, Morgana." Ren said, putting the backpack down.

"Huh? What idea?"

No response.

"Joker? You there? You know, I actually have something that might interest you."

Still no response.

"Oh, God dammit Joker, will you stop playing games!?"

The cat positioned itself better, extended it's paw, and, using it's claw began to try and unzip the backpack. It was not an easy task, and Morgana's paw was aching from the effort, but just as he was ready to give up, he managed to unzip it just a little bit. Again positioning himself better, the cat used it's second paw to slowly enlarge the small hole he created, until finally the hole was big enough for him to stick his head from the backpack.

"Huh?" The cat muttered after getting his head up "Where is he?" Suddenly, he paled underneath his fur "Wait a moment, that's..."

A loud horn caused the cat to turn around. Morgana's eyes widened and he paled even more underneath the fur. The cat opened his mouth and tried to struggle, just as the horn sounded again.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!""

The street lights of a huge truck was the last thing Morgana before ending what was already his fourth incarnation.

 **LINE BREAK.**

"So let me get this straight." Kaneshiro said, as one of his henchmen was handing Ren a glass of wine " **THE** Harru Mercenarru that your talking cat brought home has fallen in love with Sojiro Sakura, is right now in Cafe Leblanc, and is occupying the room that was intended for you?"

"Yes, that's right." Ren said as he took a sip of wine

"And you want us to get rid of her?"

"Exactly."

Kaneshiro looked up at his Henchmen and they both burst out laughing.

"Kid… do you think I have a death wish?" Kaneshiro asked. "I am not touching this with a ten feet long stick."

"What do you mean! I help you all the time, I bring you girls, I brought you even Tae Takemi… why don't you wanna help me!?"

"It's not that I don't want to, just..." A young, bruised girl handed Kaneshiro a bottle of whiskey. She turned around, noticed Ren, and burst out with tears, quickly running away "Thank you, Makoto!" Kaneshiro yelled after her "Kid, do you even know who Harru Mercenarru is?"

"Not really..."

"Good for you. Just be happy you did not end up like Agent 47."

"Who?"

"They found his body parts swimming through Sumida." Kaneshiro's henchman explained "They said his last job was to try and kill Haru Okumura."

"But- but I cannot go to homeless shelter!"

"Well, looks like you're screwed then." Kaneshiro nodded his head "I really am sorry, Amamiya-kun, but, like I said, you should just be happy that she has taken a liking to you. You say she's overly sweet and naive? Good. Then just get out of her way and nothing too bad should happen to you."

"I see…" Ren nodded sadly. "Well, I am a bit disappointed, to be honest, but I understand where you are coming from."

"I am happy to hear that."

"Thanks for the drink." Ren stood up. "Well, I actually have another reason to come tonight."

"Oh?"

"I came to warn you… you know, I live on the streets now, so I hear lots of stuff I should not hear and… well, I heard the head of a Yoshitomi gang is speaking all sorts of rubbish about you… he says soon your Empire will fall and he will take what's right fully his… you know, that sort of bullsh..."

The boy stopped as he heard glass shattering on the floor.

Kaneshiro stood up.

"WHAT Yoshitomi leader!?" He asked in a different voice.

Fifteen minutes later, Ren left Kaneshiro's hideout, smiling to himself. That is, until he opened his backpack.

"What are you doing here again!?" The boy picked up the cat by it's black fur.

"I told you before!" Morgana tried to struggle "I have nine lives!"

"But why do you keep coming back!? Do you REALLY enjoy when this happens to you!?" The boy prepared himself to throw.

"Joker, wait!" Morgana meowed "Before you toss me in front of a car again, I really think we can help each other out!"

"How!?"

"Not so fast. First, you have to promise to take me to the bottom of Mementos. And no funny buisness this time!"

"And why would I do that?"

"Because I have something that might interest you."

"Like what?"

"Uh-uh. Give me your word, first."

The black haired boy rolled his eyes.

"Fine. Morgana, I will thr… I mean take you to the bottom of Mementos. Happy now?"

"I would, If you'd just put me down."

"I was TRYING to put you down since the day I met you!"

"Joker, this is not a time for Jokes!" Morgana stopped and facepalmed. "Look, just put me down, okay? And reach inside your backpack."

Ren sighed, kneeled down and put the animal to the ground. Distrustful, he carefully put his hand inside the bag. Aside from all the books, notebooks and knifes that he usually carried with him, he felt he was touching something small and metallic. He reached out for it and pulled it out of the backpack.

"What the hell is this?" He looked at the cat.

"Well, this, Joker, is a smartphone." The cat answered calmly "Haru's smartphone, to be precise. I stole it from her when she was sleeping."

"Whatever for would I want her smartphone!? If you tricked me..."

"UGH! You really are hopeless" Morgana shook his head. "Check her contacts!"

"Why?"

"Just do it!"

With hesitation, Ren opened Haru's contact menu, but as soon as he did that he started to see where Morgana was coming from. The last call the girl got was from a number which was described as "Bastard"

"Haru's fiance." Morgana commented simply, climbing on the boy's shoulder. "Must be worried sick about her, don't you think?"

 **LINE BREAK  
**

The sunday was unusually warm for autumn, and the clear sky certainly was a nice addition after almost a week of constant raining. The trees somehow managed to keep their leafs green, and the bride smiled, happiness shining in her eyes.

To Ren, this all was extremely irritating.

The boy kept checking his watch, but so far, the ceremony sadly continued without any interruptions.

"Where the hell is he!?" The teenager whispered to his backpack.

"Calm down, he will be here soon… I think." Morgana meowed nervously

"He better be. Remember what I said I will do to you if it turns out I came here for nothing?I will cut off your tail, and..."

"I said calm down!" Morgana answered more nervously "I am sure..."

"Huh?" A man sitting a row further back looked around "Am I crazy or was that a cat just now?"

Ren punched the cat slightly

"Shut up!"

The wedding ceremony was nearly done. Sojiro and Haru prepared to exchange their weddinng rings, and the priest smiled at them gleefully. Sojiro neared to Haru and whispered something that made her giggle.

A red-haired girl sitting in front row also giggled maniacally, looking at the scene.

 _Fasterfasterfasterfastergoddammitfaster_ Ren thought, observing the scene even more nervously.

Finally, the priest spoke.

"Sojiro Sakura, do you take Haru Okumura as your lawfully weeded wife, and promise to be with her for better or worse, for sickness and health, till death does you part?"

"I do." Sojiro replied, Haru's reflection shining in his eyes.

"Haru Okumura , do you take Sojiro Sakura as your lawfully weeded husband, and promise to be with him for better or worse, for sickness and health, till death does you part?"

Haru looked at the older mine, her heart already beating insanely fast. She could not believe this moment was here.

"I-"

"THERE YOU ARE, YOU BITCH!" Someone shouted from behind the set up benches.

Everyone turned around to see a middle aged, man, whose dark brown hair have already begin to become gray. The man was dressed in all-military clothing, had a band stretched on his forehead, and an eyepatch on his right eye. Ren took a deep breath with relief.

Out of all the people, naturally Haru was the one to react first. Her facial expression changed to that of pure terror, her usually lively eyes freezing in place.

"SNAKE!?" The girl shouted with fear "H-how did you find me here!?"

"Not happy to see me!?." The man shouted and quickly walked towards the couple. He stopped in front of Sojiro and glanced right into the old man's eyes. "What's the big idea trying to take my fiance away!?"

"Wait..." Sojiro looked at the girl "You're engaged!?"

"I am so sorry, Soji-kun!" Haru looked like she was about to cry "I never suspected he'd find me here… I… I… my father decided all this! I never loved that man! I love you! I want to stay with you forever!"

"Stop it!" Snake said harshly "You know what the deal is!"

"Look, mr. Solid." Sojiro tried to act tough, but he was covering in fear "I don't know what Haru-chan's father promised you, but the fact of the matter is, she doesn't want to be your wife. Can't you just leave her alone?"

"How dare you?" The other man asked in a deadly voice "HOW DARE YOU!?"

"I am sorry, but I must ask that you leave this wedding. Otherwise, I will have to call the police."

"Silence!" Snake grabbed the girl's hand. "You are coming with me! This wedding is cancelled!"

"NO!" Haru begged "Soji, please!"

"You want to get married!?" Snake yelled "Well, here's a wedding gift from me to you!"

The people on the left side suddenly started to cough violently and move away from their seats as apparently a smoke grenade exploded, limiting their ability to breathe. The guests sitting on the right side immediately got up and started to escape, screaming in fear.

In the chaos, Snake grabbed Haru by the hand and forcefully dragged the girl to his car parked just outside the place.

"SOJIROOO!" Haru shouted with tears in her eyes, extending her hand towards the man.

"HAARUUU!" Sojiro shouted with tears in his eyes, extending his hand towards the girl.

Solid Snake pushed the girl inside of the car, which then drove away quickly, as Sojiro fell to his knees.

"Oh my God, Haru!" The man yelled, watching the car drive away.

Ren was observing the scene, chewing yet another bubble gum.

Abruptly, another car stopped by, and, from it's rear window, a person holding what seemed to be an SMG, looked out, and fired some rounds at the red-haired girl who then collapsed on the ground.

"Payback time, you Yoshitomi rat!" the person yelled, as the car quickly speed away from the place.

"Oh my god, Futaba!" Sojiro yelled, knelling by the girl and weeping.

"Dear God!" The priest yelled "What's that big fire over there!?"

The old man looked up, still weeping, and his eyes drastically widened after seeing what the priest was reffering to.

"OH MY GOD, MY HOUSE!"

 **LINE BREAK  
**

"Your daughter has extreme luck she survived, Sojiro-san." The friendly doctor said as he exited Futaba's room "Somehow, all 29 bullets missed just enough to not cause any permament damage. There was an internal bleeding, but we managed to stop it."

"Thank you so very much, doctor." The man said weakly, wiping his eyes "ls she be okay?"

"She's clearly shaken, and we would like to keep her her for a few days, but I don't think there will be any permament damage." The doctor smiled "If everything goes okay, Futaba will be discharged in a few days."

"Can- can I maybe see her?"

"Well..." The doctor sighed "I'd rather you just rest. That'd be better for both her and yourself."

"Please!" Sojiro begged "I need to see her!"

"As you wish." The man nodded his head "But please, don't stress her out too much. She needs to rest."

"Yes, of course..."

Sojiro entered Futaba's room, where the girl was connected to all sorts of medical equipment. She slowly turned around and smiled. Her heart rate was not perfect, but it was steady.

"Hello, Sojiro." She said weakly.

"Hello, Futaba" The old bartender felt he was about to cry. "How are you holding up?"

"Been better." the girl replied. "You?"

"I've… been better too."

"When can we go home?"

"About that..." Sojiro could not contain his tears "Girl, our house… everything… is gone."

"Huh?" The girl's heart rate increased "What do you mean gone!?"

"It all burned down..." The man whispered "I am so sorry..."

"WHERE WILL WE GO THEN!?" The medical equipment started to make some alarming noises "Where will we live?"

"Calm down, my dear." Sojiro whispered "I still have my coffe, we can..."

Suddenly, the door opened again, and two more males entered the room.

"Futaba Sakura?" The older man asked.

"Yes?" The girl answered weakly.

"I'm detective Ryotaro Dojima, this is Tohru Adachi. There's a warrant for your arrest."

"Game over, girl." Adachi added "What are your ties with the Yakuza?"

The equipment errupted with all kinds of noises, from beeping to buzzing. Futaba's pupils almost reached her eyelids. The girl began spasming and choking rapidly, and her heart rate started fluctuating heavily.

"Oh my God!" Sojiro ran out of the door "NUUUURSSEEE!"

 **LINE BREAK**

Sojiro returned to his restaurant tired and desperate. According to the doctors, Futaba might never speak again after the attack she suffered in the hospital. The shock was just to big. All the old man wanted was for the girl to be healthy again. He did not care aboutHaru okumura or their home anymore, they could live in LeBlanc, just…

"Making curry?" The man froze in place as he recognized the voice. "I want some too."

Sakura finally turned around and saw Ren Amamiya staring at him with his cold, grey eyes.

"What are you waiting for?" The boy asked "Extra-spicy, please."

"Y-you..."

"What? Oh, don't act all surprised, I told you you were going to regret that." The teenager said calmly, reaching for something into his backpack

"You… did..."

"Indeed I did." The young man finally grabbed and pulled out… a cat… "Well, thanks for your help, Morgana, but I won't really need you anymore." The cat meowed in a shocked tone in response "You did not actually believe me, did you?" The next _meow_ was more angry "Come on now, we all lie sometimes… DON'T YOU DARE HITTING ME!" The boy yelled as the cat swung his paws in the air. "Yeah, yeah, I promised, I know… I didn't promise when, though."

The teenager stood up and tossed the cat out of the window. Then, he turned to Sojiro, smiling widely.

"Okay, you know what, I am actually in a good mood today, I don't need your curry. I assume that the room upstairs is free again though?"

Sojiro looked like he could not speak.

"Well, in that case guess I'll be going now… man, I'm beat." The boy was already on the staircase "Goodnight, Sakura-san!"

And with that, Ren entered the room he reclaimed, and happily threw himself onto the bed, singing the theme song he has composed for himself.

 _"You'll never see it coming, You'll see that my mind is too fast for eyes..."_


	9. Chapter 9

**a/n Here we are, chapter 9 :D This time more about social links, but we're slowly getting towards the final act of the story :D I gotta say, I have an idea for the finale that I think... you'll never see it coming :D Enjoy this chapter!**

Sojiro stood pale behind the counter and quietly observed as Futaba and that devil spawn finished their portions of curry, ready to immediately fulfill any of the boy's wishes and praying he'd go to bed early today.

Futaba's long, red hair have already started to become grey, despite her being only fifteen years old, (They probably lost their colour due to stress of the last few days, as well as continuous interrogations by Dojima and Adachi) and were clearly unwashed and messy. The girl seemed like she had no idea where she is.

"AAAAAAAAAARGHH!" Futaba yelled suddenly

"Futaba!" Sojiro quickly ran towards her "What's wrong, Futaba!?"

"Those voices!" the girl replied weakly "Those voices again..."

That's right - immediately after moving here Futaba began to hear voices, blaming her for her mother's death, calling her murder, and calling her out for crimes she didn't commit. At first, she heard them only when she was in her bed, but, with her fragile psyche, she quickly began hearing them elsewhere. Sojiro was really worried about her, as nothing like that happened when she was living in their old house. Here, they started suddenly and Sojiro could not find a reason why.

Ren calmly finished his curry.

"Sojiro..." Futaba whispered "Why did I run over all those people?"

"It's okay, Futaba." Sojiro replied "It's okay, you didn't ran over..."

The doors opened.

"Why haven't you answered my calls?" asked a middle-aged man in a blue baseball cap.

Sojiro's eyes widened.

"Leave now, or I'll be forced to contact the police." The old bartender warned in a shaking voice "I am not giving you a penny."

"What was that!?" The man in the baseball cap asked furiously "Quit fucking with me!"

Ren passionately observed the scene

"Look, Futaba may is my daughter." Sojiro replied "You may be her uncle,but you have no connections with her anymore. We can take it to court if you want. Don't underestimate how hard I'm willing to fight."

"What!?" Futaba's uncle yelled "I don't give a crap about Futaba! I'm here for the sixteen and a half million yen you borrowed from me!"

"Oh..." Sojiro replied "Oh..."

"Where are my money, you asshole!?"

"Please... you see.. my house burned down recently, and my restaurant isn't doing too well at the moment..."

"So." Futaba's uncle exclaimed angrily "Not only do you have massive debt, but you failed in yet another buisness venture!? How many times have you already filled for bankruptcy, Sakura? Seven? Nine? Last year that hotel chain, earlier that pizza place... one would hope you'd learn that buisness is not for you."

"OOOH!" Ren exclaimed "What a burn!"

"Please, give me some time..."

"No time left! If you don't have those money, then I'll just take the paintings you bought with it!"

"Don't you dare..." Ren stopped smiling and walked towards the man "Don't you _fucking_ dare."

"Who the hell are you?" Futaba's uncle looked at him with contempt "Get out of my way, you brat."

"You better not piss him off..." Sojiro warned quietly

But it was already too late. Ren's extreme hatred mode was already activated. With one swift grab, he took Futaba's uncle by the hair and hit the man's head against the wall."

"YOU WANNA TAKE MY PROPERTY AWAY YOU ASSHOLE!?" The boy screamed, hitting again "NOT SO TOUGH NOW, HUH!?"

"Dear God!" Sojiro yelled "Stop! You'll kill him!"

Ren did not stop - he only grabbed the man towards the stove and dipped his face in boiling curry.

"You poor, stupid bastard... I'll teach you to mess with me..." He muttered as he continuously submerged and emerged the man's head in the dish.

"HEY!" Sojiro yelled and grabbed him from behind "That's my curry!"

"AAAAAH!" Futaba grabbed her head and sat on the floor "THOSE VOICES AGAIN!"

"Good evening." An older woman entered the store "I would like to order two cups of -" She stopped and widened her eyes as she observed the scene "Oh my God!"

"HEEELP MEEE!" Futaba's uncle looked at her desperately before Ren dipped his face again.

"Welcome to Cafe LeBlanc." Ren greeted "Today we have a special recipe..."

The old woman quickly turned and ran out.

"No, Please!" Sojiro ran after her "Don't call the police! He'll kill me if you do!"

Finally, Ren decided that's enough. He dipped the man one last time before pushing him towards the door.

Futaba's uncle examined his face, which was all burned and bruised.

"Thishs ish asshault" He said faintly, as his lips were swollen "I'll su!"

"What are you talking about?" Ren asked "You clearly did it on your own, isn't that right Sojiro?"

"Ah-Yes!" Sojiro nodded with terrified expression "Yes, i saw everything! You did this to yourself!

"Thish cafe ish finished! Ah won't let you get afay with 'dis!"

Ren took a few steps towards the man, clenching and releasing his fists.

"Argh! Am sorry! Yesh, I did this! Pleashe, I won't su!"

"Get the hell outta here." The boy said in a threating tone

"YESH! Yesh, am gettin the hell out! Shorry for trublin you, Shakura-san!"

"Wow." Ren muttered as the doors closed "What an asshole."

 **LINE BREAK**

"Margaret!" The old man entered the Velvet Kitchen,where a young woman was washing the dishes "Have you seen the girls?"

Margaret stopped.

"Maybe they escaped?" She asked, trying not to sound hopeful "I-i mean..."

"What was that!?"

"Well, if Elizabeth..."

She stoped as the old man hit her in the face.

"I told you never to say that ungrateful girl's name again in this Velvet Room!"

"Apologies, Master." the woman whispered, massaging her cheek.

"What did I do wrong back then!?" The man continued "I only left to visit a Kindergarten and find another brother or sister for you, and when I came back she was gone!"

"You left the Velvet Door unlocked...and that Minato Arisato kid helped her get out."

"Don't think I don't remember, you stupid girl! That was rhetorical question!"

"Forgive me Master, but something has been bothering me for a long time now... why do you suddenly sound so different?"

Igor coughed a few times.

"My throat... I think i caught a cold.."

" _Hello!"_ a young voice emanated " _Help! I think something is wrong with this place!"_

"Ah." Igor smiled "I see the Trickster has arrived in the Velvet Prison. Have you already cleaned the Velvet Toilets?"

"Not yet."

"Well then, hurry up!" The old man was not impressed " When you finish, please clean the Velvet Living Room too. And I think the lights are out in the Velvet Catacombs. Please fix that when you're done"

"Yes, master." The girl bowed down as her master left "If only my guest has been so considerate as the Arisato kid..." She whispered sadly

- **A FEW YEARS EARLIER, in the Persona 4 universe.**

"Hey, what the-" Margaret hear a familiar voice.

"Oh, thank God, it's only Yu." She whispered to herself "Welcome to the Velvet Room. As you see, my master is currently away, I must ask you to... no, wait a minute" She muttered to herself.

"Where's Igor?" the silver-haired boy asked.

"Thank god that old creep isn't here... Kid, let's drop the charade." Margaret looked at him pleadingly "You have to get me out of here."

"Can you fuse Personas?"

"Listen to me!" She yelled "I don't want to be here, okay!? This is my only chance! Please, help me!"

"But what about my Per-"

"Yu!" Margaret was desperate "Please! We don't have a lot of time, he'll be back soon! I just want to see my family again!"

"But I only came to fuse Izanagi and..."

"Goddammit!" Margaret grabbed him and shook furiously "I'M BEING KIDNAPPED, YOU IDIOT! HELP ME!"

The doors to the limousine opened.

"I'm back, Margaret!" The old man entered and noticed the scene "What are you doing with our Guest?"

"Nothing." The girl let go of the boy, feeling her heart stop "Welcome to the Velvet Room, would you like to view the today's Fusion Forecast?"

 _ **PRESENT TIME, Velvet Kitchen**_

The more the girl thought about her tragic past, the more she felt she's going to cry. Unfortunately, her thoughts were cut off by a loud scream.

"MAAAARGGGAAAAAREEET!" Igor's voice was furious "COME HERE RIGHT NOW!"

Whenever Igor's voice reached the critical level of fury, that was never a good sign. The young woman gulped audibly and quickly ran towards the Master. Soon, it was clear that something was very wrong, - as she ran, for some reason, there has been water on the Velvet Floor. At first it wasn't much, but as she reached the Prison, the level of water was already reaching her ankles.

The moment she entered, she noticed Igor standing on his desk, glaring at her angrily, and that new Trickster guest jumping on his bed, as the level of the water was rising quickly.

"I thought I told you..." Igor said with anger "To clean the Velvet Restroom yesterday!?"

Out of every lavatory, in every prison cell filthy, stinky brown water was pouring out heavily, contaminating the room.

"What are you waiting for!?" The man yelled "Go get the Velvet Plunger right now!"

 **LINE BREAK**

Ren woke up after Igor furiously kicked him out of the Velvet Room, and immediately noticed that something stinks. Having his suspicions, he got out of the bed and realized that his pants were soaking with the brown water. He preferred not to think about why the water had such color.

With disgust, he took his pants off and replaced them with his school uniform. Irritated by Futaba's screams coming from downstairs, he decided to go for a walk.

"There, there, Futaba, you haven't blown up the Diet building." Sojiro was conforming the girl as Ren left.

The boy was already regretting recording all those hateful lines and placing a wireless speaker under the girl's bed. At first, when he activated it at night, it was quite fun, but this was really getting irritating. Who knows, if this continues, he might have to get rid of Futaba for good.

"Hey there!" A young, cheerful woman shouted after him "Care about your future? How about a reading then?"

"No, piss off." He replied as he passed her by.

But then, he remembered something - all the people at school have been talking about a fortune teller named Chihaya Whatsherlastname. Maybe it was worth giving her a shot? And, of course, humiliating her in front of the bystanders to prove there's no such thing as fortune telling.

"You know what?" He said as he returned "I changed my mind."

"That's great!" She exclaimed " This is your first time here, isn't it? It's not often that I get young men stopping by my stand."

"Gee, I wonder why." Ren coughed.

"What was that?"

"Nothing!"

"Anyways, my name is Chihaya... uh..." she widened her eyes "I am Chihaya... Chihaya... what's my last name?" She smiled again "You know what, that's not important. I will be reading your fortune today. You can begin by telling me your name."

"..." Ren wasn't going to tell her his name.

"Well, I could try and divine it if you like... You're... I got it! Yamamoto Mishima, is that correct?"

"That's right." It is hard to pretend to be astounded, when you're trying not to burst out with laughter. "How did you know that!?"

"Oh, it's all here!" Chihaya pointed to a blank space on the table "I mean, here. In the Cards." She smiled " So what type of service can I interest you in today?"

"Give me the full package." Ren said nonchalantly. He still had some money that he stole from Sojiro when leaving.

For some reason, Chihaya's expression saddened.

"Full package...?" She asked herself "Oh, yeah, the full package! Very well, I suppose the life of a high-schooler is difficult."

"You know it."

"Now, then, let's start with an initial reading to test the waters of your fate." The young woman closed her eyes and began shaking "O divine power... bring forth this boy's fortune!"

She reached to the table with her eyes closed , and she began pounding it heavily, at the same time swiping her other hand through the table, causing all of the cards to fall down.

"NO!" She exclaimed, shaking massively "The power of the Devil Arcana is too strong! I feel it calling for me! Salvation!? The only salvation you will find is death!" Chihaya began pounding her head against the table.

"What the hell!?" Ren jumped backwards.

"Ah, ignore her." A passer-by patted him on the shoulder "She does that every time."

"I hear it! I hear the demons calling my name! BRACE THYSELVES, HEATHENS, FOR THE DARK MASTER IS BEING REBORN! The forgotten scorn of Babylon..." Chihaya stopped suddenly and opened her eyes rapidly." I see. There seems to be new wealth in your financial future is looking good today. This wealth I speak about will come... from your house." She smiled " Head over home, and precisely five thousand yen will await you there."

"OK." Ren got up.

"Hey, wait!" Chihaya yelled after him "You forgot to pay me!"

Ren did not return to pay her, but let's just ignore Chihaya's outburst of profanities and satanic prayers, and move to Cafe LeBlanc, where, at the same time, a tragedy was taking place.

"My money!" Sojiro Sakura yelled, opening the register "My five thousand yen! Where did it go!? What am I supposed to pay the bills with!?"

"SOJIIIROOO!" Futaba cried "I didn't want to bomb Nagasaki!"

A few hours later Ren returned home, ignored the crying Sojiro, and entered his room, where he suddenly found five thousand yen waiting for him.

"Meh." He said, putting the cash in his pocket "But she didn't get my name right."

 **LINE BREAK**

"Hey, guuueeesss what, guys!" Ren happily entered the class room the next day "Our Home Room teacher is a maid!"

Kawakami looked at him with terror, as the class erupted with voices.

"For real!?" A boy from the second row asked with disbelief

"You mean... that kind of maid!?" Ann Takamaki loked at the teacher.

"That's right!" The boy proudly exclaimed "Here, I' even have some pictures!" He handed some pictures to the people in the first row "Feel free to show them around school!"

"Wooah." Mishima muttered "That really IS her"

"Wow, what a beauty..." Another boy exclaimed.

"I was asked to keep it quiet." Ren continued "But SOMEONE forgot to pay me the next thousand yen."

"I told you i don't have so much money..." Kawakami replied with tears in her eyes

"And I told you I don't care!" Ren turned to her "I'm curious what other immoral activities have you been engaging in."

"What are you implying!?"

"Oh." The boy put his hands in his pockets "Now that you ask, I think I have some more pictures!"

"What pictures!?"

"Check it out, guys! Our Home Room teacher works in strip club!"

"WOOAH!" Every boy in the class gasped.

Kawakami paled.

"I was asked to keep quiet about it, but someone forgot to paid me another thousand yen."

"Is that true, Kawakami-sensei!?" Ann asked shocked

"That's not it!" kawakami yelled "I have a difficult situation, you kids would never understand..."

"Oh?" Ren asked "Is that why you are MODELLIING in your free time? I was asked to keep it quiet, but..."

"YES!" Kawakami screamed "I get it! I didn't give you another thousand yen!"

"Um... no, this one's actually because of that F on the latest test."

Kawakami burst out into tears and ran from the class as her secrets have been exposed.

"Well." Ren muttered to himself "I wonder what else's Ohya going to tell me for exchange for a drink."

 **LINE BREAK**

Sojiro was trying to calm Futaba down, as she was having yet another panic attack. Ren was watching television, and Morgana was trying to get out from the garbage bin.

" _And now towards the Political News: The elections are getting near, and all of the parties have started their campaigns."_

"Futaba, I swear, you didn't kill Ronald Reagan! Put the knife down!"

" _However, there is one politician, and well known philanthropist that decided that the needs of other are more important than political campaign."_ the screen showed a few pictures of an old, bald man playing with mentally handicapped children. Ren dropped his fork. _"Shido-san, last year you decided to hand over all of your party's yearly income to multiple animal shelters, and this time you resigned from campaign funds, and donated them to a foundation for disabled children. Why are you so generous?"_

The man from the pictures appeared on screen. He had a warm smile, and good-natured look in his eyes.

 _"Well, I just can not stop thinking about all those suffering people in our nation and worldwide."_ Shido replied _"I believe we should support each other as a nation, but also as a species, because after all, we are all human. We need to care about the weak and persecuted. Money can't buy you happiness, but they can make life a bit better for suffering people. I have decided that I will donate most of my future incomes to charity, and..."_

Ren's fist collided with the table, as realisation struck him.

"You..." he growled, looking with hate at the bald politician.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/n Hello everyone.**

 **A long time has passed since I last updated. To be honest, due to my situation and lack of time I doubted I will ever do that again. But, after allowing some time to pass, I felt this would be a bad path to take. So i figured I will post this update along with new chapter.**

 **I feel you deserve explanation, if you still clicked on the story after such a long time.**

 **You see, my mum's in poor health lately. Not to the point she needs to be constantly hospitalized, but she needs to visit it at least once a week,and I need to provide care for her to the point I had to quit my full-time job and stay at home, taking just on-line job opportunities. I had to quit school too, and, due to all of that, writing was, and still is, the last thing on my mind.**

 **I love writing those stories, but until the situation gets better, I cannot say when I'll update again. I have almost a chapter written for my other story, so I should upload it next week. But after that, I can't promise that I will keep updating every week or two. I will try my best to do that, but until the situation gets better, I may not be able to post regularly. I hope you understand.**

 **OK, enough of the sad stuff. Hope you enjoy this continuation of "Tales of an Evil Mind." :)**

"SHIDOOOOO!" Ren screamed, not controlling himself, and ran out of Cafe Leblanc "SHIDOOOOO!"

Sojiro ran after him, shocked with his outburst, and some people looked at him as if the boy was mentally unstable (well, he kind of was.)

He was shaking with fury. All of the painful memories that he managed to block until now... why, why did it happen to him? What did he do wrong?

The trial... Why did everyone take this bastard's Shido's side?

No.

This has been a conspiracy. It was rigged against him from the very beginning. It had to be. He needed to do something. He needed to...

"Hello, Joker." A cat's head suddenly sticked out from his backpack "Did you really think..."

The next thing Morgana knew, he was hanging from a nearby tree, his tail broken in eight places and tied like a bow to one of the branches.

Ren did not have time for that right now. He needed... He needed to blow some steam. Luckily, he knew just the place that would help.

 **LINE BREAK.**

"What the...?" Ren asked furiously, looking at the state of the place. "You have got to be kidding me!"

The blackjack tables were covered in dust. The croupiers have long left the poker tables. The lights were out and the letter "I" has fallen down from the word _CASINO_ hanging by the entrance. The small, black screens now constantly showed the word "Defeat."

Desperately, Ren tried turning on one of the slot machines.

"HEY!" He heard a voice and turned around. He saw a lone Shadow glaring at him "Can't you read, kid!? it says _out of order!"_

"But i need to-"

Suddenly, a terrible sound erupted somewhere in the halls of the casino. It sounded truly outlandish, and even if Ren tried to act all tough, he had to admit he had goosebumps. Whatever made the noise was not human.

Rapidly, corners of Ren's eyes detected movement above him. He looked up and saw a ghost.

The ghost was standing one floor above him, dressed all in black and spasming hysterically.

"WHY!?" The ghost howled "WHY MAKOTO, WHY, WHY, WHY!?"

Just then it occured to Ren that this ghost is in fact, not a ghost, but simply a terrible loking woman. Her hair were grey and blotched, her make-up blurred and she had visible wrinkles on her face. She was dressed in all-black clothing, similar to a funeral costume.

"There, there, Sae-san." A brown-haired boy hugged her "It will be allright."

The boy had some sort of black-goo substance leaking from him. Ren already killed Akechi, so he suspected something was off.

He coughed audibly. Both Akechi and Sae looked at him, noticing him just now.

"Stand back, Sae-san." The Akechi-lookalike pushed past her "I'll save you! I am merely a sidekick of yours, anyway."

But before he could do anything, Sae ran downstairs, and she kneeled in front of Ren and grabbed his knees.

"Please!" She cried "Please! I'll do anything! You can have my treasure, just give me back Makoto!"

Ren smiled to himself. He was actually starting to enjoy this far more then the dumb slot machines.

"No can do, Nijima-san." He answered calmly "Makoto is out doing an honest job and has my full respect for it. Meanwhile, you run some sort of casino-scam. Everyone in the Metaverse knows you're cheating. I won't let you corrupt her again. She's is better off without you."

Nijima pounded the ground with her fists, crying her heart out.

"PLEASE!" She tried again "You can have this casino!"

"Wait, seriously!?... Then again, staying here and watching you torture yourself is so much more fun."

"You better watch the way you speak to Sae-san." Cognitive Akechi looked at him dangerously.

"Oh, what are you gonna do?" Ren mocked him "Sidekick?"

"That's right, I'm just an irritating little brat and helping Sae-san is the best I could do in my life. Without her, I'd be noone." The detective nodded his head "That's why I will stop you and your evil plan here and now. Sae-san!? SAE SAN, WHAT'S WRONG!?"

"I think a knife's stuck in her chest, dude." Ren pointed out.

Akechi looked at her, then looked at the black-haired boy with terror, which quickly changed into fury.

"YOU... HOW... _WHEN!?_ "

The detective tried to grab him, but soon everything started shaking. One of the slot machines exploded with money, and started a chain reaction. Ren quickly ran to that place and started collecting thousands of yen.

Akechi tried going after him, but one of the golden chandeliers fell off at this very moment, crushing him on the spot.

"Goro!?" The black haired boy looked at him "Goro, are you all right? Shake the chandelier if you can hear me!"

Unfortunately, Akechi did not shake the chandelier.

"Hm, guess it's time to update my records, then."

Feeling he doesn't have a lot of time left, Ren equipped his phone and decided to cheat his way out of the palace once again.

He ignored a little girl's voice that was calling for help and looked around, taking one last look at what he's done.

"Man, Morgana would be so angry right now." He smiled as he pressed the _exit button._

Sudden heavy metal guitar riffs cut his thoughts. He realized he's not home yet. The teenager looked down at his phone, and surprised, discovered that it played a video of badly animated characters shooting at each other and even worse animation of explosions, sometimes interrupted by words and sentences like „Mega", „Ultra-realistic graphics" or „No 1. game."

„The hell?" He tried pressing the back button, but only got notification that said „ _Advertisement: skip in 20...19...18..."_

Something cracked and the boy looked up, widening his eyes.

„That does it!" he yelled as he jumped from another falling chandellier „I'm going to kill that old creep!"

 **LINE BREAK.**

At approximately the same time, a young couple looked in surprise at the unusual decor someone hanged on the tree.

"Dear God." The female whispered "What is this? We have to help that poor kitten!"

The male puffed.

„Hold on, my dear." He replied „Perhaps it was placed there for a reason."

„You think so?" The girl looked at her boyfriend.

"Well, it's only a month or so until christmas, and it's getting more and more popular. Maybe it's one of those christmas decorations you can see in the Western TV?"

The couple observed the struggling catfor a few moments until the female sighed.

"I swear, these people in the West have the weirdest traditions."

They both walked away, as Morgana meowed at them hysterically.

 **LINE BREAk**

 **"** One million fourty thousand yen... One million fifty thousand yen..." Ren was sitting in his room, counting the money he earned during his latest heist. "Oh, that reminds me..."

He opened the notebook Sojiro gave him on the first page, half of which was taken by colorful, carefully drawn and decorated letters that formed the words „Mental Shutdowns" and carefully wrote the name of Sae Nijima below the names of Suguru Kamoshida, Goro Akechi and Crash Bandicoot.

He skipped the second page, which, in turn, was titled „Times I've killed Morgana". The rest of the page was torn out, as were four next ones. On the first page that wasn't destroyed, Ren drew yet another heart next to the pink number 5 and began wondering. With just four of the cat's incarnations left, he needed to start thinking how to celebrate that glorious day.

He turned to the next page and placed another short, horizontal line next to 37 previous ones, and scratched it with a vertical one. He did not care about the names of Mementos targets or civilian Shadows, but still, he was quite proud of what he did for living, and this was a nice way to commemorate that.

He closed the notes and remembered to hand it later to Sojiro for review. Although he probably will have to read the notes out loud again, as for some reason the old man outright refused to read the diary lately.

For the first time in a long time, Ren felt relaxed. He decided to turn on the radio.

 _"... and that's why I decided to start a hunger strike in protest of how the Cambodian government treats the textile workers."_

Ren's excitement faltered away as he heard the familiar voice.

" _But, Shido-san, why would you opt for such gesture?"_

 _"I think it's only fair to fight against the inequality and poverty in the world. We need to help the weak, and..."_

Ren switched the radio off. Shido's words have made him feel sick to his stomach. How could anyone believe such garbage? What if someone like him would become the president? Shido was insane and he needed to be stopped.

The more Ren thought about the politician, the more angry he became.

"SHIDOOOOO!" Ren screamed, not controlling himself, and ran out of Cafe Leblanc "SHIDOOOOO!"

Sojiro ran after him, shocked with his outburst, and some people looked at the boy as if he was mentally unstable (well, he kind of was.)

He was shaking with fury. All of the painful memories that he managed to block until now... why, why did it happen to him? What did he do wrong?

The trial... Why did everyone take this bastard's Shido's side?

Why was he feeling like he's done all this three times today?

No.

This has been a conspiracy. It was rigged against him from the very beggining. It had to be. He needed to do something.

He really could not shake that awful deja-vu feeling. He needed to...

„Joker!" He did not pay attention to the meowing cat as he passed him „Joker, return here and untie me! Untie me right now! JOKER!"

Ren did not have time for that right now. He needed... He needed to blow some steam. Luckily, he knew just the place that would help.

 **LINE BREAK**

„Keep the sake coming. Ladies!" Kaneshiro was laying in a bed next to a fan. Two young girls were sitting next to him, and two more were constantly filling his glass with all kinds of alcohol. „Wow, what a day..."

And what a day that was indeed. Not only his gang took control over Shibuya, which now basically meant he controlled the entire Tokyo, but according to the news report, prosecutor Sae Nijima, which was investigating him back before she was placed in a high-risk solitary confinement in Tokyo's psychiatric ward, has suffered a mental shutdown. He didn't know who the perpetrator was, but he knew he was indebted to the guy.

„Yo, Junya." a young man was suddenly standing above him. „How's it going?"

„Amamiya?" The man raised his eyebrows „What are you-"

„Man, what a day." The boy grabbed one of the girls „Give me that bottle!"

„Amamiya, aren't you forgetting something?"

„Oh?" Ren asked after taking a solid sip of gin „What do you mean, Junya? Anyway, you won't believe whom I..."

„Enough!" Kaneshiro interrupted him and sat up „Kid, I like you but you're going to far. How dare you call me by my first name, no honorifics included?"

„Oh? And how, may I ask, are you better than me?"

„Are you serious? Have you forgotten who's the boss here!?"

„Wait..." Ren took another sip „You meant that's you? Yeah, that's kinda why I'm here."

The gangster raised his eyebrows

„What do you mean?"

„It's funny whom you can find when walking through Shinjuku at nights... Tell me, Junya, why do you claim you're from Tokyo? You grew up in Yokohama, didn't you?"

„How do you know?" The man paled suddenly.

„I honestly found out by accident." The teenager smiled „To think the one I _ordered_ in Shibnjuku last night turned out to be your mother."

„MY MOM IS IN SHINJUKU!?" The man stood up and looked around „OH, SHIT! OH, SHIT! OH, SHIT!

„Calm down, Junya !" Ren also stood up „She's here right now, you can finally set things right!"

„OH SHIT!"

„There you are, you brat!" A middle-aged woman appeared by Ren „What do you think you're doing!? How could you left your family!?"

„Mom... Dad..."

„Oh, stop it!" The woman yelled „All your father told you was, quote: if you want that console, go to work! And you start a crime syndicate opposing to ours!?"

„Let me explain, mom!"

„No explanations!" the woman grabbed his ear and started pulling him toward the exit „UGH! Just you wait until your father finds out about this!"

„NO!" kaneshiro begged „No, please, don't tell papa Kazuma! I'll be good now! I'll be goooood!"

„SILENCE!" the woman yelled „I swear I will hit you if you don't stop, or my last name's not Kiryu!" she looked back at the stunned people in the room „Please, forgive me.I realize my son can be quite bratty when he wants something. You're all free to good. Ren-kun, thank you again. The night was wonderful.

„Wait, what night!?" Kaneshiro's eyes widened as he looked at Ren „Mom, you didn't-"

„SILENCE!" She smacked him „And don't you dare telling your father about this!"

The woman left, still pulling Kaneshiro by the ear. The girls looked at each other.

„Well, looks like we're free now." The first one said

„I never suspected the Kaneshiro empire would fall so suddenly." The other one added.

„What's going on?"

Ren turned around as he heard the familiar voice.

„It's over now, Makoto." He replied „Kaneshiro is gone."

„GONE!?" She jumped in shock and gaped „But... does that mean that..."

„That's right." Ren nodded „I got rid of him."

Makoto could not believe it. She looked at the teenager, but his beautiful, deep black eyes didn't indicate he was lying even a bit.

She looked at the boy with awe. He... he did it.

Sure, he betrayed her and sold her out to Kaneshiro in exchange for twenty five yen he didn't even took.. She was forced to work as a prostitute and serve horny, 50-something year old males...

But that didn't count. Not anymore.

He came for her. He saved her.

Her prince on a white horse.

She could not help herself. She ran towards him, extending her arms, and soon she was drowing in his sweet, sweet embrace. Ren's hug felt different than the ones Daisuke Takanashi used to give her when she was with him back in the first semester of the first year.

As his strong, manly arms closed in around her, she did it again. She stared into his eyes, and his eyes looked like an endless void of space; like a black veil of eternal peace. She felt the tears streaming down her face.

„Th-thank you..." Makoto whispered.

She felt the warm touch of his fingers as he gently carressed her hair. She wanted to cry all the sorrows in the world away on his buff, muscular chest.

„It's okay now, Makoto."

She looked at his face and felt something... something she didn't feel when she was with that strange bloke from class 3-B. The boy's cute face was gleaming in the dark, and Makoto felt Her lips started moving before she knew it, but she didn't do anything to stop them. She just let the words flow.

„Ren... I-i think... I think that I lov-"

Suddenly, Dojima and Adachi entered the room.

„Except that prostitution is illegal so I had to report you." Ren spoke, breaking the hug. „I am so very sorry, Makoto."

„WHAT!?" She backed away, and looked at the two men „Report me? Is this the police!?"

„Oh, scared now?." Dojima mocked „Didn't think about the consequences when you've been breaking the law."

Adachi grabbed her and put the silver cuffs on her hands.

Makoto looked at Ren. This could not be happening again. This was not supposed to happen! He was supposed to be with her forever, carrying her through the hardships of life on his muscular back...

„To think." Ren spoke „Your late sister had an honest job and my full respect for it. But you? You ran some kind of prostitution ring. It's a good thing you won't be able to corupt her again. She was better off without you. Too bad she passed away."

„PASSED AWAY!?" Makoto yelled „What do you..."

„OK, that's it, La Diablita." Dojima interrupted her „We'll talk at the police station."

„Wait! Wait! What did he mean by-"

„Let's go." Dojima pushed her „Rest assured, you won't be coming out of jail for a looong time."

The police officers (and Makoto) passed the other girls and Yakuza members, ignoring all of them. Younger Nijima was all they wanted. Ren turned away from them and looked up towards the sky.

„Well, Sae-san." He whispered „I rescued Makoto. Your turn now..."

„Excuse me?" One of the mafia members raised his hand.

„What!?" Ren turned around. „Can't you see that I'm praying!?"

„I'm sorry, Amamiya-sensei, but... what are we supposed to do now, exactly?"

Ren blinked a few times, then smiled. Oh, he was ready to face Shido now.


	11. Chapter 11

" **a/n Hey everyone! Well, it's been a lengthy break of about three months or so, but I'm back again! Not everything is fully resolved, but I'll try to update AFitT and already have a good portion of the next chapter for this story written down, so I'll also update soon. The next chapter will also mark the end of the dreaded Shido arc :( Honestly, I feel like this version of Shido is awful and the last few chapters have been a drag to read, for which I apologize. But after that I have a special arc written that I think you guys will love, so just hold on a tad more.**

 **For now, I hope you enjoy chapter 11.**

Yes!" Ren triumphed and raised his hand into the air, taking another sip of coffee "All right!"

Making coffee was not really a hobby or anything, he just enjoyed taking Sojiro's supplies of beans and replacing them with bugs. Plus, he really needed to celebrate – within a few minutes, Shido wouldn't be a problem anymore, and Ren made certain of that: after taking over Kaneshiro's mafia ring, there was nothing that could stop him anymore.

As if that wasn't enough, soon he'll start gaining profit from Nijima's old casino. Rebuilding a Palace turned out to be a difficult task, but Ren found the answer in hiring a bunch of Shadows from third world Palaces to work for him. At first, they weren't totally convinced, but after the boy offered them a competetive salary of four yen per hour with a guaranteed bonus of not slaughtering their families, they happily got to work. Some people really have the lowest requirements.

The door opened, and in came Sojiro, carrying a bunch of groceries.

"Oh, you're making coffee, huh?" The old man asked putting the bag down "Here, let me try."

Ren looked at him surprised with the man's sudden guts, but… what the heck? He was in a really nice mood that day, so he might as well try and see what that "being a good guy" stuff was all about.

He got up and allowed the bartender to take his place.

"Hmm." Sojiro muttered "The flavor profile is a little bland. You should consider adding more ingredients. I-i mean..." Sojiro's eyes widened and he stuttered "I see you did it exactly the way I taught you. Well done"

For some reason, the comment made Ren smile.

"Hey, wait a minute!" Sojiro commented as he gazed upon the small shelf where he kept all his beans "What the hell?"

The man got up and walked to the shelf

"Oh, you didn't..."

The barista picked one jar after another, carefully examining and sniffing the beans. When he got to the biggest one, he stopped abruptly and asked without turning around:

"Did you touch my Fazenda Santa Ines?"

"Um..." Ren suddenly found himself scared for some reason "I only took one tiny, little bean and..."

Rapidly, Sojiro slammed the glass in the wall, breaking it and sending the rest of the coffee to the floor.

"I thought I told you, you little brat" Sojiro shrieked in a weird, squeaky and irritating voice "hands of the expensive BEEEEAAANS!".

Ren gasped, as the man did a 180-degree head turn and immediately noticed Sojiro's expression changed. He now had completely red eyes, with a small, vertical line instead of pupils. Black saliva dripped from his mouth as he breathed heavily, and his fingers were replaced with sharp metal blades.

Ren gulped with terror.

"Sakura-san, please! I didn't know..."

"REEEEEEEE!" Sojiro roared, as he jumped over the cash machine, nearly hitting the ceiling.

All Ren could do is watch as the landed on top of him and with one strike slashed the blades through his throat. Ren began to choke and groan as Sojiro continued to land more hits. He started feeling tired and his eyes began closing…

 **LINE BREAk**

"GAAAH!" Ren sat up rapidly, all covered in cold sweat and looked around. He was in his room, in his bed, with no signs of Sojiro or someone else nearby "It was just a nightmare." He breathed in relief as he laid back down "Just a nightmare..."

There was no denying it – the stress of the last few weeks, primarily of trying to outsmart Shido, really took his toll on him. And it was hardly surprising – after all, at the tender age of sixteen, Ren went through shit so horrifying and twisted that perhaps not any adult would be left without scars. It was not even his first nightmare those last couple of days, but it was the first dream that felt so real… like it all could actually happen in real life. But, with Shido's downfall, it will all hopefully end.

He closed his eyes, hoping to go back to sleep.

Rapidly, something sharp tore through his pajamas and chest. Ren shouted in pain and sat up again.

There was a demon in the room. Ren could feel the monster's burning, yellow eyes shining through him as if the creature was trying to bake him alive with it's hatred. The demon hissed and prepared for another attack. It was not big, actually it was quite small, but the sheer presence of it made Ren paralyzed with terror.

"What… what do you want from me!?" He yelled, looking for a way to defend himself.

The creature jumped on his bed, still piercing him with it's eyes.

"JOOKEEEER!" The demon screamed, "YOU ABSOLUTE ASSWIPE!"

"Wait!" Ren reached a small lamp near his desk and turned it on "Morgana!?"

"Obviously!" The cat did not lower its tone

"Wait, where's your tail?"

"Meeeeeooooow!"

"Oh, yeah!?" Ren yelled back "Well, you're a cat!"

At first, Morgana gasped. Then, he furiously attempted to throw himself onto Ren. However, he did not calculate the fact that Ren can get up, so he slammed face first into the nearby wall.

"Have enough yet?" Ren asked half bored, half amused.

"You tied me up to a Christmas tree! I could have frozen to death!"

"Who helped you ?" Ren cursed under his breath as an idea hit him "It was Sakamoto, wasn't it!? That son of a bitch!'

"Noone did!" Morgana yelled back "Everyone just mistook me for a christmas decoration! It's a good thing the temperature went up and the ice melted!"

"But as it did, your broken tail snapped and still hangs of the branch that I hanged you on?"

"Silence!" Morgana yelled as the boy started to chuckle "You think this is funny!? You think cruelty against animals is funny, you jerk!?"

"Jeez, come on, Morgana, it was a joke."

"A joke!?... You know what!? I have enough of this! This ends now!"

"Oh, no." Ren's smile faded a bit as he e remembered the trouble Morgana caused by bringing home Harru Mercenarru "Morgana, don't. Just don't."

"Oh, but that's what I'm talking about Joker." The cat suddenly changed his tone to a cold whisper "I won't. I won't do anything anymore. I give up."

"Wait, what!?" Ren's smile now completely faded as Morgana's tone sent a shiver down his spine "Give up!? You can't give up!'

"That's too bad, as it's what I am doing right now. " The cat hissed as it turned around "Goodbye, Joker. I hope you enjoy this shitty storyline with a ridiculous plot that barely makes any sense and is filled with awful humor and cheap running gags. Hope you don't fall in any plot hole. I have enough. "

And with that, Morgana started walking towards the stairs. For a few moments, Ren just stood there, not believing in what just happened. But suddenly, he felt he needs to do something. He gritted his teeth and ran after the cat.

"Oh, hell no!" The teen yelled as he approached the cat "Who do you think you are!? You're not going anywhere! You hear me!? Come back right now!"

The cat did not bother. It was already at the bottom of the steps.

"Morgana! Don't you DARE give up on me!'

No reaction again, and Ren watched as it approached the door.

"Oh, come on! I'm sorry, okay!? I'm sorry that I bullied you and even killed you four times, and that I used you as a bait whenever I went fishing, and..." The cat jumped on the handle and opened the door. "Morgana, please! I swear, I'll make it up to you, just come back! I will even throw you to the bottom of mementos! Shit, I meant take! I will TAKE you to the bottom of mementos! We will get your memories back!"

"Thank you, Joker." The cat responded, turning to him one last time "But I think I can get to the bottom of Mementos on my own."

Ren gasped and watched as the cat leaves the coffee shop.

"Oh yeah!? Fine!" He shouted at the top of his lungs "Go, I don't need you! I..."

His last words were silenced by a sound of a thunderstorm that was just starting. Ren waited for a few minutes, but Morgana did not come back. He was alone.

 _Hello darkness, my old friend,  
I came to talk to you again…_

Angrily, Ren picked up his cellphone and answered the call.

"What the hell do you want!?"

"Job complete." The person at the other end said simply.

 **LINE BREAK**

He found himself staring at the ceiling of the place he knew and loathed from the depths of his heart. Which was quite ironic, as the place apparently WAS his heart.

"How goes the rehabilitation?" a strong voice asked.

"Oh, for God's sake, not today." the boy muttered and cursed under his breath. He decided not to answer and pretended to be asleep.

"Welcome to my Red Room."

"Wait, what?" Ren sat up and looked around the room." _Red_ Room?"

"Yeah, we had to re-paint all of the walls, after the, umm..." Igor grimaced "Incident happened last time you were here."

"Why Red though-" Ren stopped and widened his eyes "I was right! You sick, perverted..."

"Know your place inmate!" Caroline exclaimed, hitting the bars with her bat "Who do you think you're talking to!?"

Ren followed the voice and for a brief moment found himself at a loss for words.

"Why are they locked behind the bars? Why are they in chains?"

"Well.." Igor turned to the girls with anger "Maybe if _someone_ hasn't been found in the fucking Velvet CPS Office, Pappa Iggy would trust them a bit more." _  
_

"The CPS? You mean Child Prote... _"_

"First, I would like to congratulate you on expelling the one proud of their modesty."

" _..._ ction services?"

"Or so I would like to say, however something strange seems to have occurred, didn't it?"

"Strange?" Ren paused "What happened?"

Igor chuckled, bur Ren started to feel panicked.

"Who knows?" the old man asked "However, can't you sense it? The malicious spirit of another...it seems as if a contingency has occurred… I truly look forward to how you overcome this predicament"

"Oh, Goddammit, will you just speak like a normal person does and tell me what happened?"

Something started ringing. It grew louder and louder and louder… it was an alarm clock.

"Time's up, inmate." Caroline declares "Hurry up and return to your real world."

"God, no! Not right now, just hold on a second"

"Well, I guess you could still fuse a persona or two." Igor muttered, "Is that what you wish of me?"

" _Ho- Ho – Ho!"_ Jack Frost's voice erupted in Ren's head " _Ho- ly shit, no!"_

" _I don't want to be beheaded, mommy!"_ Kodama cried.

" _Tshh..."_ High Pixie whispered " _Be quiet honey, maybe he doesn't remember we're here..."_

Ren looked at Igor

"As a matter of fact – yes, I do."


	12. Chapter 12

**a/n Hello guys, welcome to chapter 12. Finally, it is time for Ren to face Shido and repay him for every horrible act the politician ever caused. So, without further delay, I hope you enjoy the read!**

„No!" The small creature shivered and cried as it was being immobilized „Please, mommy, help! Why is Amamiya-san doing this!?"

„Not my son!" High Pixie begged, trying to escape Caroline's and Justine's grasp, tears quickly strolling down her face „Please, I beg you, not my son! I'll do anything! Take me instead!"

„GYAHAHAHAHAHA!" Ren enjoyed every little scene that his beloved Personas played out just for him before every fusion, but this one had the strongest potential to become his all-time favorite. „MWAHAHAHAHAHA!"

„You goddamn monster, he's only a child!" High Pixie screamed „What the hell do you want!? Do you want some money? Do you want an item? I'll give you whatever you want, just let Kodama go!"

„Ho, ho, ho!" Jack Frost, on the other hand, did his best to reason with the teenager „Violence is evil! Santa will find out about this, ho!"

Ren did not reply. He simply equipped his phone (He learned how to smuggle stuff to the Red Room a long time ago, back when it still used to be Velvet) opened a news portal, and held out the phone in such a way so the Persona could read what's being written on the screen.

„Santa Claus is dead." Jack Frost began reading out loud „The goody-two-shoes was attending a charity event in the Northern region of South Pole when his pupils became white and some kind of an unidentified black goo began to leak from his mouth, nose, and ears..."

Rapidly, both blades fell down, right onto the Personas below them, and both slashed through their necks.

„Wow." Ren backed away a few steps „Now this IS a Red Room."

„Help me mommy" Kodama asked as his head was hanging on one singular piece of flesh „This hurts very much."

„KOOOODII!" The female persona despaired, as Igor went to his desk and brought out the Velvet Saw to finish the job.

Something strange started occurring to High Pixie's body as despair and anguish overtook her. She became smaller and smaller, and more and more silent, so much that Caroline and Justine had to let her go, in order not to crush her.

„Looks like it'll become a skill card." Justine exclaimed.

„All right!" Ren yelled as High Pixie transformed into a round sphere.

„Indeed." Igor muttered as he was busy cutting down Jack Frost's head off „This is a Diarama skill card. Take it with you."

Finally, the persona's head both fell off and instantly their should connected, forming a brand new entity.

„My name is Oberon." The newly created persona introduced itself calmly, but as its eyes found its new owner, the creature's expression changed into that of a full terror. „Holy shit, not you!"

 **LINE BREAK**

The more Ren thought about it, the more depressingly real it became: Morgana was not coming back. At first, he was sure the cat'll be back when he gets tired or hungry. He even bought a plate of fresh tuna to lure him in and placed a rat trap in front of the cafe LeBlanc door to trap him. Sadly, all that happened was Sojiro accidentally stepping onto the trap and needing to be taken to a hospital with two one finger cut out and another two broken – the accompaniment of heavy curses, in turn, making Futaba lose it once again, which only caused Sojiro to scream louder.

It wasn't all that bad, as upon noticing this situation the paramedics notified the cops who launched an investigation if he's abusing her. And Ren intended to prove once and for all just how much of a monster Sojiro Sakura really is, but…

But right now… right now he was walking through Shujin's corridor., alone, and thinking about his cat. No, not his cat. His friend.

Ren could hate Morgana as much as he hated anyone else, or even more, but deep down… deep down he always had some sort of a weakness for the cat. And just now, he was beginning to really appreciate the time he spent with him. Their first trip to Mementos, the time Morgana went after him to Kamoshida's Palace… hell, even in the real world… what about that time Ren went baseballing without a baseball bat? With Mona on his side, even that was hardly a problem.

He tried to fight it. He really did. But he couldn't, and as he stopped and clenched his fists, something wet made its way from his eye through his cheek.

 _Lonely, I'm Mr. Lonely  
I have nobody for my own  
Now I am so lonely, I'm Mr. Lonely  
Wish I had someone to call on the phone_

„What the hell do you want again!?" Ren yelled, answering someone's call on the phone.

„Amamiya-sensei… we really risked a lot. I'd like to ask about that payment you promised us.."

„I told you: You'll get the money after I see Shido's dead body. I need to make sure..."

He interrupted, noticing a sudden ruckus happening all around him. Students from different classes ran to the corridors and began observing something through windows, talking excitedly. Interested, Ren also peaked outside of a window and gasped audibly.

„I have to go." was all he said to his caller as he ended the call and ran to the school's patio, along with many other students.

„Class is still in session!" A panicked teacher yelled, but no one was listening to him.

A person was standing on the school's roof, clearly wanting to jump. Other students were gasping in terror, as he or she prepared themselves.

„Who's that!?" a male student asked his friend.

„That's… wait, holy shit, I think that's Takamaki-san!"

Ren gasped again and, pushing himself through the crowd, ran to the first row.

„Ann!" Ryuji Sakamoto yelled „Don't do this! She wouldn't have wanted that!"

„Do it!" Ren yelled, standing next to him, and the blonde boy looked at him with shock „Do it! Jump, Jump, Jump! Let's go, Ann! On you go, girl! Let's hear it for Ann, everyone!"

For a few more seconds, the girl was still standing there, pale as a rock. It was clear she didn't really want to do this. But Ren's words seemed to be like fuel - they made her more desperate and more fragile. She took a step forward, lost balance, and….

„NO!" Ryuji yelled, and the world around him seemed to stop the moment Ann's body hit the ground

„YES!" Ren yelled, and the world around him continued to spin like nothing happened the moment Ann's body hit the ground.

A black-haired boy, also known as Student Council President Yuuki Mishima, looked like he was about to pass out. Not being able to take the pressure, he quickly ran in the direction of the school. Ren looked at him, surprised, and decided to run after him and investigate. And, because Mishima was a pathetic loser who couldn't do a single thing right in his life, he tripped after about ten meters and Ren caught up with him.

„Why have you been running like that?" He pushed him to the nearest locker „Huh?"

„L-leave me alone..." Mishima shielded himself with his hands.

Ren looked at the other teen. His with his eyes widened, and lips shaking. It was clear something was wrong.

„She jumped and tried to kill herself!" Ren yelled with awe „How do you do this to people!? Where can I learn that?

„Kamoshida-sensei..." Mishima mumbled

„What?" Ren raised his eyebrows. He has personally killed Kamoshida's shadow. What on earth was going on? „Just tell me. I'm not trying to get you busted. I won't say you talked, either.

„I just realized..." Mishima had difficulties speaking „He might have been a pedo…" He pulled his hair „I dated a Pedophile!"

„What!?" Ren closed his eyes and waved his hands around „What the hell!? I didn't want to know _that!"  
_  
„You asked!" Mishima protested, slightly insulted.

„Like hell I did! All I wanted to know is what's wrong with Takamaki! Why did she jump from the roof!?"

„O-oh. So you didn't know? Her best friend died in the hospital last night."

„Whoa." Ren smiled to himself „Now that's what I like to hear! What happened? Did she suffer? Oh God, please tell me she suffered."

„Well… she probably did suffer, as she hasn't died naturally, more like… she was murdered. A bunch of masked guys just attacked her in her hospital room."

„Say what?" Ren said slowly as his smile faded and he remembered Igor's words from last night „Masked guys?"

„Yeah, it didn't really make any sense, either. I mean, they butchered her in front of her mother's eyes, shouting something about revenge and that their boss wanted her dead..."

Slowly, Ren reached into his pocket and equipped his phone.

„And something about a trial, too..."

But he didn't need to speak any longer. Ren opened his IM app and at the same time felt the need to throw up and to sit down.

„Damn you, autocorrect." was all he could whisper.

The message he sent to his henchmen clearly said _kill Shiho._

 **LINE BREAK** **  
**  
Ren had enough. Yet another humiliation by Shido simply was too much. And, if all other plans failed, if his stupid gang members were too dumb to tell _Shiho_ apart from _Shido,_ then clearly it was the time. The time to use the drastic measures.

Shido's palace was a Raft.

And, the strangest thing was, it's owner was not even on board.

„Hello?" Ren carefully hid the knife in his backpack, next to a gun, a rope, and a sword, and looked around „Hello, Shido-san! You there?"

„Oh, thank god someone's here!" A faint voice exclaimed

Ren turned around and there he was. In the middle of the restless ocean, hanging on a single, singular piece of wood, there he was.

There was Shido's Shadow.

„Kid, can you help me!?" The shadow yelled, choking on the ocean water „I think I may be drowning!"

Theoretically, Ren didn't even have to do anything. He could just wait for Shadow Shido to drown, But, since he was already here, since he suffered so much humiliation from the politician after the man ruined his life almost a year ago… there was no way he would just leave without the pleasure of finishing his shadow off himself.

„What happened?" He asked in a worried tone „Did you fall off the raft?"

„What?" Shadow Shido yelled, „Sorry, I didn't catch that?"

„I asked if you fell off!" Ren raised his voice a bit.

„Sorry!" Shido yelled back „The Waves… can you repeat once more!?"

„What happened?"

„What!?"

„Goddammit, what happened!? Did you fall off!?"

„Oh!..." An extremely big wave nearly swept Shido off his piece of wood „No, I jumped!"

Ren looked at him dumbfounded.

„What? Why!?"

„When I realized..." Shido choked on the water „When I realized that there's not a piece of land anywhere it made me sad for all the little birds who would just get tired and drown…they were too scared of me to land on the raft, so I just took a piece off wood and jumped off… but I think it's getting too wet now!"

Ren facepalmed

„Hold on, I'll throw you the rope!"

„The what!?"

„THE ROPE! I'm gonna throw you the fucking rope so you can come back here!"

„No!" Shido yelled „You can't! Someone may need that raft more than I do! Just throw me another piece of wood or something!"

„Grab the damn rope!"

Irritated, the boy tied up tied the line up in a large knot, and, inspecting carefully for a few moments threw it so the knot landed directly on Shido.

„Just get on the raft!" The boy yelled, pulling on the rope.

„No, please!" Shido screamed, not able to move his upper limbs.

„Don't give me that shit!" Ren yelled, pulling the rope harder, finally dragging the politician to himself.

„If you keep this up I… I..." The Shadow threatened and tried to struggle.

„Shut up!" The teenager had to use all of his power as the Shadow tried to resist „Incompetent fools like you just need to shut their mouths and follow to where I steer this country!"

„Someone help!"

It wasn't easy, as the Shadow was trying its best to struggle and escape, so Ren had to cast Rakukaja and Debilitate him. But it was worth it as now, the wet shadow was curled up in a corner of the raft.

„Why..." He whispered „Why… who are you?" Suddenly, he paled „You… you are more than just someone who came here to rescue me, aren't you?"

„Long time no see." Ren took off his mask and kneeled down in front of his face. „Remember me?"

„You..." The Shadow's voice was panicked „Could you be the one from back then…heh… „The shadow chuckled „What an interesting turn of fa- OH MY GOD!"

He dodged in the last moment as the knife was about to hit him, and tried to escape to the other side of the raft, but Ren grabbed his shoulders and turned the shadow to face him again,

„You think **YOU'RE** worth causing **ME** trouble!?" He yelled as he shook violently „Huh!?

„You were trying to hurt that poor woman." The shadow replied weakly „I had to do something! I couldn't just ignore that!"

„Shut up! You're done for." Ren hissed, equipping his knife again and nearing in „You're gonna learn what happens when you cross me… You shall regret these foolish actions against me… in the afterlife!"

„Fine then." Shido stood up" If this really has to be like that… we'll fight. It's regrettable, but..."  
 **  
** _ **BANG!**_

„Ow." Shadow Shido looked at the pile of red on his chest „Those damn guns…"

Slowly, the shadow simply leaned backward, and, finally, fell off the raft right into the murky waters below.

„Wow..." Ren looked at his gun „That was… rather anticlimactic..."

Everything around started shaking. The Palace was about to collapse, and so was the raft. Ren carefully stepped to the other end.

„I hope you rot in hell that you wanted to drag this country into!" He shouted one last time and activated the navigation app. When the connection to the real world was established, he took a few steps to return.

Suddenly, he lost ground underneath his feet.

He screamed as he realized he's falling down

And down…

And down…

 **LINE BREAK**

Sojiro Sakura was browsing through Futaba's stuff. He didn't really enjoy it, because he felt like he was invading the girl's privacy. Also, many of the things brought back memories of Wakaba. But he had to do clean her room up, as since they moved in here and the strange incidents started to happen more and more, Futaba became more and more spiritually drained. Sighing, he began to change the girl's sheet.

That's when something fell out of the bed.

„What the hell?" The man wondered „An audio player? Futaba doesn't even listen to music.

Hesitating, he pressed play.

„Murderer!" The first voice exclaimed, „You killed her!"

„Why don't you say something!?" Another one shouted, „Say something!"

„You should be dead instead!"

Sojiro listened with his mouth opened, as the voices kept accusing Futaba, and not only of killing Wakaba, but of more and more ridiculous crimes. And the strangest thing was, they were all different variations of Ren Amamiya's voice.

„She killed her mother! Probably shot Abraham Lincoln, too!"

Sojiro stopped the recording and stared into the darkness. This… this would explain anything. Futaba's strange behavior since moving into LeBlanc, her auditory hallucinations. With her fragile psyche, Amamiya just had to play this a few times when Sojiro wasn't home and he had Futaba actually believing this trash.

He clenched his fists. This time that punk has gone too far. Whenever he was the target of Ren's psychopathic rages, Sojiro preferred to avoid conflict out of fear of the boy, but Futaba… Futaba was untouchable. By doing what he's done, Amamiya crossed the line.

„Just you wait till you come back home, you brat." Sojiro muttered, standing up.

 **LINE BREAK**

„Ow… crap." Ren hissed upon regaining consciousness „Crap, my head."

Shakingly, he slowly stood up and looked around. With terror, he realized he doesn't recognize the neighborhood.

The teenager tried to check his smartphone, but shockingly realized it has been replaced with what looked like a sold mobile phone used during the 2000s.

„Where am I?" He whispered „It looks like the real world, but it's… some kind of a village."

There were only a few buildings in the area, but the road seemed to lead into a bit bigger town, and at least one person, dressed in an orange suit, was standing by the road. Ren did not have a choice. He didn't know where he is, or what just happened to him, so he had to try his luck. Maybe the person was from around here and knew what was happening. Although the guy (or chick, as it was rather hard to tell) looked creepy as hell, the boy neared in and spoke.

„Excuse, me, what's..."

„Oh." The guy/chick/person turned to face him. „Welcome to Moel, how can I help you?


	13. Chapter 13

**A/n Hello everyone! Took me a long time again, but here is another chapter of "Tales of an Evil Mind"! I know that an eternity passed since last update, that's why I don't want to promise anything, since it clearly didn't work last time, but just know that even if the updates are scarce, this story is no way cancelled!**

 **And now, let us move to the foggy Inaba, where Ren will meet a rival worthy of his skills...**

Ren didn't understand a thing. What was going on? What's a _Moel?_ Where was he? What happened after he escaped from Shido's crumbling palace? Why was this man/woman looking at him almost lustfully?

„I'm sorry..." The gas station attendant walked toward him and was now so close that Ren felt an overwhelming urge to start blinking rapidly. „I'm sorry, but… may I please touch you, sir?"

„What!?" Ren paled and his eyes widened „Hell no! Just what the hell do you think you're doing…?

The boy tried backing away, but the other person followed him every step with an extremely creepy smile on their face.

„Please, sir, I need to touch you..."

„No!"

„Just for a split second, sir!"

„No - Crap!"

The teenager lost balance as he tripped over a branch that he didn't notice while backing away. Now he was lying on the ground, and the gas station attendant kneeled right next to him, still smiling like a maniac.

„Ohohohohoho" The person giggled stupidly, poking Ren all over his body. What's strange was that with each touch Ren felt like a great power entered or left him. „Tehehehehehe..."

„Hey."

They both raised their heads and noticed that a middle-aged raven-haired man in a police uniform was glaring at them.

„Fill up my car while you're at it. Regular's fine."

„Dojima-san!" Ren got up and ran to the cop „Thank God! Just what on earth is going on here? Where am I!?"

„Do I know you?" The police officer looked at him carefully „ No, I don't think so… So you must be new in town, huh? Just like my nephew… Hey, wait a second… No offense, but you look terrible. Did something happen?"

„Are you kidding? Don't you recognize me? You know, the guy who helped you catch the famous mafia leader Makoto _La Diablita_ Nijima redhanded?"

„Makoto Nijima?" The man blinked „What the hell? What are you even talking about?"

„No..." Ren whispered, and slowly began to piece it all together. „Don't tell me..." He slowly looked up at the sky, and saw… nothing. Just pure darkness. „Oh, Goddammit! I've fallen through a plot hole, haven't I!?"

„Plot hole?" Dojima looked at him confused „Kid, are you on drugs? This is all real life!"

„I DON'T KNOW WHERE I AM!" Rey yelled furiously „I DON'T KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON!"

„Well, you said you have fallen...if so, you might have hurt your head" Dojima muttered. „That might explain memory loss and being so aggressive."

„I..."

„We'll be taking you to the hospital next morning if the symptoms continue." The man decided „For now, you're coming with me. I won't let you sleep on the street in this condition."

The police officer wrapped his arm around Ren's shoulder, and the boy, confused, decided to follow him.

„Wait!" The gas station attendant extended his/her/its hand after them „But..."

None of them were listening anymore, as Dojima closed the door after Ren, and started the car, leaving for his house.

The attendant was left behind, still extending the hand.

„But..."

 **LINE BREAK**

Dojima's house was not very big, but it certainly was cozy and warm, unlike Ren's room in LeBlanc. The smell of freshly made daigaku imo actually made up for all the broken sake bottles and cigarettes laying literally everywhere.

The cop had to leave for work as he received the news that the body of someone named „Hanamura-san" has been found hanging from Junes' advertising billboard, but he still managed to introduce Ren to another boy his age, named Yu Narukami. Though Narukami wasn't in the mood for small chat for some reason.

„Yosuke..." The silver-haired boy kept repeating, staring blankly into the TV. „Why, oh why was it the spider costume, Yosuke..."

„Will you please stop this?" Ren finally had enough „What is wrong with all of you people!? Can someone finally tell me where I am!?"

The other teenager looked at him, pale and sweating.

„Quiet" Yu said simply. „Please… Whatever you do, just be quiet… Dojima-san isn't here, so..."

„What the hell are you talking about!?" Ren yelled „What is wrong with all of you people? Why are you all acting like THIS" He walked to the nearest window at pointed at the sky „is normal!?"

He interrupted, as someone's footsteps were getting near. Ren wasn't sure if it was possible to tell a person's mood from their footsteps, but if it was, well, the person sounded pretty pissed off.

„Oh God. Oh God. Oh God. " Yu whispered, standing up. He looked at Ren with anger mixed with terror „You… why couldn't you just be quiet? Why couldn't you listen? Now she's coming... We're both fucked... Oh God. Oh God. Oh God..."

„Huh?" Ren looked at him „Who's coming?"

The person was now at the bottom of the steps. The light was dimmed, but the shadow of whoever that was was visible. And it was big... Now, that Ren thought about that, the footsteps were pretty heavy too…

„… Haru?" Joker suddenly found himself at a lack of jokes.

But it wasn't Haru Okumura. It was…

„Nanako-chan..." Yu was as white as the wall he was standing next to.

A young girl appeared at the bottom of the stair. She could not have been older than 8 or 9. The girl was small and petite, even for her age. She was dressed in a pink _Junes_ T-shirt and was holding a doll in her hand.

Ren breathed with relief. The weak lightning must have made her shadow look this huge.

„I asked you, and I did it multiple times, to not be so loud while I have a headache." Nanako said, looking at the silver-haired boy „Do you really have to be so disobedient ?"

„Nanako-chan, please..."

„Perhaps you're just a slow learner?" She calmly asked as she took a few steps toward the boy „Perhaps I should just make myself clear once again? Do you want that? Do you want that… big bro?"

Ren looked at Yu. The other boy was trembling with fear and attempting to hide behind the sofa.

„I ASKED IF THAT'S WHAT YOU WANT!" Nanako shouted suddenly, charging at the silver-haired boy.

„No!" Yu replied, jumping back „Nana-chan, I beg you! This won't happen again, I swear! I beg you, I'll be good now! I'll be good!"

„You better be." Nanako hissed „This is my final warning for you, big bro. You and your queer group of friends caused me enough problems as is. Wasn't my last message clear enough?"

„HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAA!"

They both looked at the source of the voice. Nanako must have just now noticed Ren, as her dense eyebrows lowered with anger.

„Dude, what the hell!?" Ren was choking with laughter „She is totally owning you!"

„Oh, I see." Nanako looked at Yu „You piece of shit! You brought another five 0 to my house!?"

„NO!" Yu fell to his knees „I… I swear, I don't even know him!"

„AHAHAHAHA! I-I CAN'T! A TWO YEARS OLD GIRL! HAHAAHA- OOOOWWW!"

Suddenly, Nanako appeared by him. With one swift kick to the stomach, she sent Ren to the ground. As the teenager was down, she grabbed him by the hair and with unprecedented strength pulled him to the other side of the didn't really know what was happening, but he realized Nanako picks him up and places him against something.

A TV.

The boy's eyes widened as he looked back and noticed that the moment his back touched the TV, the screen became soft and wet. It almost felt like he was touching the surface of water, and not something that should be cold and hard.

„Oh?" Nanako asked, holding his face against the TV „You're not laughing anymore? Come on, laugh for me! "

Ren could not laugh, because she was holding his mouth shut. Not that he wanted to, anyway. All he could do was to stare at her, with his eyes widened. How could such little girl have such incredible power?

And then he noticed it: Nanako's hands were covered in gangster tattoos.

„What's your name, hotshot? I ASKED WHAT'S YOUR NAME!" The girl yelled, and, without waiting for a response, she… pushed Ren's face through the screen. The boy gasped, as he suddenly found himself staring at a completely another world – one covered in yellow fog, without any traces of humanity.

„AMAMIYA!" He yelled back „IT'S REN AMAMIYA!"

Once again he felt an unpleasant feeling as Nanako grabbed him by the hair, back to the real world.

„Silly, silly Amamiya-kun." The girl gave him a wicked smile „First day in town and already hanging out with the wrong people. Too bad that in this town such mistake is going to get you killed."

„What!?" Yu gasped „Nanako-san, he's just..."

„Same goes for you, _**big bro**_ **"** The girl turned to him, „You think I didn't realize the Investigation Team is still looking for the killer, even after I framed poor old Adachi? You've costed me over one hundred million yen worth of drugs, you filthy scum!"

Suddenly, the doors opened.

„Nanako, it's raining!" They heard Dojima's voice „What did you do with my umbrella!?Good time as any for a smoke."

„Daddy!" The girl let go of Ren and, jumping happily, ran to the entrance door „It's in the hall closet, dad!"

„Ah, there it is!" The man smiled and patted Nanako's head as she giggled with joy „Thanks a lot, Nanako."

The man was getting ready to leave again, but the girl grabbed his coat.

„Hey, dad, if you come back earlier today, can we go to Junes?"

„Nanako, you know I have to work..." The man hesitated „At the other hand… Fine, I'll try to get back home as soon as I can. Then we can go anywhere you want."

„Yaaaaay!" Nanako again jumped happily and hugged the man's legs „Thanks a lot, dad!"

„Okay, but I really have to go, and so do you, remember? Your private math lessons start this week."

„Oh." The girl's smile faded a bit „O-okay."

„How about I give you a ride?" The man offered „Go get your coat. I'll be waiting in the car. Good time as any for a smoke."

„Okay, dad!" The girl yelled after the police officer, and as soon as he left, she turned around to look at the boys. „I'll deal with you both once I finish my multiplication lesson." She announced in a grave tone as she grabbed her coat „Here I go, daddy!"

Ren, still massaging his throat, weakly walked towards the other boy.

„What the hell was that!?" He asked confused.

„That's..." Yu turned to him, panic and dread clear in his eyes" That was the true culprit behind the Inaba Murder Spree.

 **LINE BREAK**

„That's impossible!" The girl with short, brown hair stood from the table and looked at them with her eyes wide open. „You're telling me all this time it was Nana-chan that's been throwing people into the TV!?"

„She killed Yosuke-kun..." The pink-haired girl whispered through tears, not looking at anyone.

„That's her.." Yu was still pale, and looking around in terror „She's… She's somehow involved in some sort of drug-trafficking mafia. That Mayumi Yamano murder, people being thrown into the TV's… that's all Nanako. When someone was starting to know too much, she simply got rid of them by placing them in that other world."

„Well, but why haven't you told us anything!? We spent the entire year getting innocent people arrested for supposedly being the culprit!"

„You don't understand, I was scared! After the Yamano case, she just… she knew that I know. I was supposed to be the key witness in that case, yet I was placed in the house of the murderer! Can any of you even imagine how I felt!?"

„She killed Yosuke-kun…."

„If Yu-senpai has been fearing for his life, then I guess it's possible he may have kept planting false evidence to move our suspicions away from Nanako. „The girl in blue deduced „However, our best course of action would be not to make hasty decisions. We should simply question Nanako and see what she has to say."

„That's fine and dandy, but we still haven't decided what we will do to her after we catch her. „everyone turned their eyes to the black-haired boy „Personally, I'd go with murder, but torturing and crippling her for life would work too, as long as Dojima would get to watch a footage of that event"

„As I said, we would be questioning her." Naoto replied slowly „We need to establish what Nanako has to say, and what her potential motives were..."

„Question? Are you serious!? Wh-what are you even doing here!? I thought..." Ren stopped, as he realized that after he's fallen through the plot hole, not everything was how he remembered it „Never mind, I guess it's not the time for your mental shutdown yet."

„My what now?" the girl raised her eyebrows

„Never mind." Ren waved his hand. He wasn't going to tell her. Not that he'd feel bad, it's just if she knew, she might have tried to prevent it, and, if he had to choose, he vastly preferred Akechi's detective work over hers.

„Sensei!" A squeaky voice exclaimed „I'm beary, beary sorry but I can't bear-lieve it Nanako would do something like that! That would be so beary unbearable! That bear stands with Nana-chan beary strongly!"

„… What the hell is that?" Ren rubbed his eyes with disbelief, looking at the person in the bear costume."

„That's just our friend." Yukiko sighed „Sorry about him, he's just a little bit… you know." She pointed to her head.

"But that's true, Teddie." Yu replied weakly „She's evil."

„Can you PLEASE stop it?" Ren snapped at the boy sitting next to him, which clearly was trying to move as close to him as possible.

„Oh." The blonde punk scratched his back nervously „Sorry, Senpai, I just..."

„Whatever."

„What are you thinking about, Naoto-kun?" Yukiko asked.

„I just have a strange feeling..." the blue-haired girl muttered „That something is extremely wrong here. I mean, Nanako-chan as a murderer? It just doesn't seem very logical. How could she possess the strength required to push people inside of the tv?"

„Distortions." Ren muttered, and everyone looked at him. „At least that's what I heard."

The boy hung his head as suddenly fleeting images of all the good times he shared with Morgana flashed before his eyes.

What did he do to deserve this?

It's not like he was constantly abusing Mona, they shared some good memories too. For example, just a few days before the cat ran away, it came back all dirty and filthy because it was raining outside. Ren could not stand to see him like that, so he took the cat to the laundromat, and even picked the most expensive washing machine. Hell, he even manually squeezed Mona dry.

How could the cat just leave…?

 _He walks away  
The sun goes down  
He takes the day-_

„Okay, back to the point." Chie interrupted his thoughts „Distortions, you say? Well, honestly, we started to suspect something like that after we didn't manage to save Shadow Kanji, but..."

„That was just too horrible..." Yu whispered, somehow even paler.

„Okay, I have enough of this bullshit!" The blonde slammed his fists into the table and stood up „Stop grilling me about it, goddammit! I apologized three times already, what more do you want from me!?"

„WE GOT YOU, YOU BRAT!"

Everyone turned around to see where the voice was coming from

„OH SHIT!" Yu yelled in terror and ducked under the table „Oh, crap! Guys, RUN!"

The other teenagers yelled something to each other, but Ren could not understand what was being said, as soon the Junes Food Court erupted in chaos.

The visitors started fleeing in terror, as their screams mixed with the sounds of SMG rounds being fired. Ren stared in awe as dead bodies started to drop all around him. Someone grabbed his hand, and dragged him from the table, towards the exit.

The chaos was intensifying with every moment, but for a few seconds they ran dangerously close to the person firing the shots – It was a young, 20-something female with dyed, long red hair. Ren could swear he saw her somewhere, but could not remember where.

„AHAHAHAHAHAHA!" She laughed maniacally, sticking her pierced tongue out, as she kept turning and shooting in every possible direction, the look in her eyes nothing short of insane „HAAHAHAHHAHA!"

Rise, as she was the one who rescued Ren, gasped and ducked under the table. They managed to get to the end of the food court, but even the rest of the store was already in full chaos – waves of cops have entered the building, and a full-on shootout between them and the attacker began.

„What the hell is this!?" Ren yelled, looking at Yu, as they nearly collided with the rest of the group in front of the elevators, and the sounds of shots fired faded a bit „What's happening?"

„I don't know!" Yu exclaimed, even paler, pressing the button repeatedly „But I think she must have hired them to get rid of me..."

„NAAARUUUUKAAAMI!" someone roared and a chair suddenly landed just next to Ren, breaking into small pieces.

All of the teens looked back to the food court, and Yu gulped – just a few meters away, and clearly glaring at them was an extremely muscular young man, with short, spiky blond hair. The entirety of his body was tattooed, including his face, which gave him sort of a tribal/animalistic look. The man bared his teeth, which didn't even look like human ones – if anything, they looked like teeth of an adult Bullterrier or Amstaff, or even a Wolf..

He roared again before he charged right at them, quickly pushing through waves of people wishing to use the elevator to flee.

„Akihiko, don't let them escape!" The red-hair yelled, at the same time concentrating her attacks on Ryotaro Dojima. The cop must have gotten here along with the other officers, and he was now shooting in the direction of the female, and at the same time smoking a cigarette he was holding in his other hand.

„Crap!" Yu moaned, pushing the button again and again, but the elevator seemed to be stuck.

The blonde was getting closer and closer, just a few steps away from them…

„Oh, for God's sake! Give me that!" Ren yelled and pushed Yu out of the way. Concentrating as hard as he could, he gathered all his strength and hit the elevator button.

His hand now hurt like hell, but the elevator door slowly opened, just in time for all of them to ran inside.

Just at the moment Ren pressed the button for the first floor, the rest of the team saw that their pursuer launched himself into the air, attempting to jump in after them. A few moments later, the door closed, they heard a loud „dud" sound, as if something collided with them heavily, and the elevator started descending, playing the „Everything's Great at Your Junes" theme.

„Oh my God..." the silver-haired boy laid back against the corner of the elevator „Oh my God, what's… what's wrong with her!?"

„Quit being such a puss." Ren looked at him condescendingly „I think it was pretty cool."

Yu looked at him shocked and was about to respond, but Naoto was the one who spoke first.

„It will be OK, senpai. We'll be safe now..."

„We're not!" The boy looked at her „Don't you get it? Nowhere will be safe, she won't stop until she gets me!"

„This won't happen." The detective assured him „I believe there can be no more room for doubt. Nanako proved herself to be a cold, heartless mass murderer. Once we leave Junes, I will personally make sure she's brought to justice..."

Suddenly, something hit the top of the elevator heavily. And again, and again, so much so that it was clear it was not a mechanical sound.

„Oh my God." Chie looked at the other teens „Don't tell me he's..."

The banging was getting louder and heavier, it was clear the top will give in any moment now, but luckily that's when the elevator stopped at the lowest floor. When the panicked members of the Investigation Team got out, Ren pressed the button for the highest floor, sending the elevator back to the food court, and jumped out just at the doors were about to close.

Everyone was breathing heavily, and all of them looked at Ren with gratitude. Risette was crying.

„Quick thinking, senpai." Kanji patted his back, but the raven-hair was not impressed.

„Stop it." Ren said calmly „The only person I'm doing this for is myself. Also, I'd recommend doing something if I was you guys. He'll be back soon."

„Oh, crap!" Chie looked around „There's nowhere to hide..."

„We have no choice." Naoto decided „We'll have to enter the TV world for now."

„The what?" Ren turned to her.

„It's a long story. It's where we came to save people that have been thrown into the TV. At least that's what we thought we were doing… Anyways, if Nanako is desperate enough to throw this kind of stunt, then I believe she's not scared of being found. We should head to the electronics department. I believe she's currently in the TV world as well."

„What?" Yu looked at her „Then why would we…?"

„Calm down, senpai. There's currently nine of us, and she's alone. What could she possibly..."

At this moment, the elevator beeped, and the small screen above indicated that it began heading down.

„Well, you can stay here if you want." Ren looked at the leader of the Investigation Team „So where's this electronic department!?"

„Over here!" Chie pointed and ran first „Come on, don't just stand there!"

The rest of the group ran after the girl. They entered the main fragment of Junes. They all managed to get in before the man exited the elevator, but he was surely on their tail. The store was empty, but that was hardly a surprise after what was happening upstairs. Chie and Yu were leading the way, with Ren walking after them. The raven-haired boy could not help but feel disgusted by Yu. What even was his problem? Some random people shooting at him, and the dude already looked like he was about to cry. If he'd only knew what horrifying shit Ren went through on a daily basis…

„Here we are." Yukiko said, as they entered a room filled with all sorts of equipment, from freezers to microwaves and washing machines. However, most of the room was occupied by all sorts of TV's. „Junes' electronic department. It's from here that we depart to that other world..." Suddenly, the girl stopped. „Department- Depart..."

„Oh, no..." Chie whispered softly and her expression became as blank as it could.

„Haha… HAHAHAAHAHAHA… AHAHAHAHA! HEY, CHIE, CHIE!" The raven-haired girl elbowed her friend „Oh my God Chie did you notice? We DEPART from the Electronic DEPARTMENT! AHAHAHAHAHA!"

„Yes, Yukiko, that's so clever and funny." The girl responded, her facial expression not changing a bit.

„I know, right!? Hahahah..."

„What's wrong, Yu-senpai?" Naoto asked, trying to outshout Yukiko's laughter.

„I… I don't remember which one was it." The silver haired boy muttered.

„You what?" Ren turned to him „Oh, that's just great..."

„Hey, you can't really blame me! I..."

Suddenly, the silver haired boy stuttered and looked somewhere in the distance, behind Ren.

„What?" The other teen asked. Yu began moving his lips, but it seemed like not a word could come out from him. „Come on, what!?"

„S-senpai..." Naoto pointed to the same direction.

„Oh, for God's sake, what!?"

Shakingly, all of the other teens brought up their fingers and pointed to the same point. Irritated, Ren turned around, but as he saw what exactly the other teenagers were pointing to, the only thing he managed to say was:

„Oh, holy sh-"

„DIEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" The red-haired woman shrieked firing her guns. Except now instead of guns, she was holding two missile launchers. „Die! Die! DIEEEEEEE!"

In the last moment, suddenly the person in the bear costume jumped at the group, pushing them out of the way just as the grenade exploded.

„Oh my God, no! Teddie!" Yu yelled, as a bloodied part of the bear's head landed in his hands

„Yu-kun, let's go!" Chie grabbed his hand.

They were barely escaping, the females' insane laughter ringing in their ears, as one TV exploded after another. They could feel the heat of the explosions, they were covered in parts of Teddie's body, and as they just managed to run past a corner, they had to stop abruptly as they encountered yet another obstacle.

The blonde, tattooed man was blocking their paths, standing on all fours and again exposing his teeth, staring at the teenagers hatefully.

„Woof! Woof!" The man roared as he charged at them, still on all fours.

„Goddammit!" Ren grabbed Yu „Which TV was it, you idiot!?"

„I don't know, I.."

„DIEEEEEEE!" The red hair blocked their only way of escape, standing at the other end of the alley and reading her weapon again.

„Why don't you guys do something!?" The black haired boy looked at Yu's friends

„We can't!" Naoto replied, „Only Yu can..."

„Oh, you're damn straight I can." Ren hissed as he took the silver-haired boy by the hair and placed him against one of the TV's that weren't destroyed yet.

„What are you doing!?" Yu yelled, „We can't use this TV, we don't know where we'll end up!"

„Shut your mouth and GO!" Ren yelled, pushing the other boy inside of the TV.

He managed to overpower Yu and felt the other boy's losing ground. Ren felt the other teenagers grab his clothing, also wishing to be transported. He would be able to easily knock them away, but before he could even think about doing that, they were all freefalling through a white tunnel right into the TV World.

Just one second after the TV swallowed all of them, Ren looked back and saw the missile hitting right in the center of the screen, and the exit to the real world faded.

 **A/n I realize Ren may have been too mild in this chapter, but don't worry, he'll show his psycho side again in the next one ;)**


	14. Chapter 14

**a/n Ta-da! Two chapters in just a couple of days! Nice, right :D Ok, I've had a big portion of this one written already, so that's why I update so quickly. I'll be updating my other story next, because I've left it for even longer than this one, but don't worry, I already know what'll happen and have a very basic version written already.**

 **Warning - disturbing content ahead, reader's discretion strongly advised!**

Some buzzing in his ears. It increased. Then, sudden lflash of light  
 _  
„Senpai!"_

He wasn't going to open his eyes. The darkness felt so soothing. So calm and relaxing...

 _„Please, senpai! PLEASE!"_

No. It was better like that.

Another humming.

Another flash of light.  
 _  
„Senpai, please! Help me!"_

He sighed. The screaming, the lightning… it wasn't going to stop, was it?

He opened his eyes, but the darkness remained. But.. something was shining in the distance. Some sort of a crack…

Carefully, he stood up, and immediately the world around started spinning. He grabbed his head, trying to control the diziness.

But… that light felt good. He was supposed to be there… Once he saw it, he just knew it.

Just after he took the first step, the humming in his ears began again, and he closed his eyes, knowing what will happen.

 _„SEEENPAAAI!"_ The voice was desperate.

He took one uncertain step after another, the world still drifting around him, but his goal clear in his mind.

 _„Oooh!"_ Another, but similar voice exclaimed _„What a catch!"_

Was it… his voice?

No, that's just his brain telling him stuff.

Because it doesn't want him reaching the Light.

 _„No!"_ The first voice yelled „ _What are you – Please! Someone help!"_

The more steps he took, the more sure of his surroundings he became. Now he was able to tell that the light was not coming in through a crack, but somehow it was shining from behind the semi-open door…

 _„Tshhh…_ _there there, it will be all right, just close your eyes..."_

No.

He wasn't going to close his eyes.

He was this close to the door already. The door that would let him leave this neverending darkness behind…

 _„_ _AAARGH!"_

He extended his hand, but suddenly something stopped him.

Was that really the right thing to do? Maybe his brain was playing tricks on him? Was what he saw even real?

But… he was already at the door.

The orange light felt so warm. He felt so calm when it's warmth touched his skin….

He made up his mind.

He pushed the door.

The light blinded him at first, but after a few moments he began to feel accustomed to his new surroundings.

He was in… a bathroom? What the hell!?

What's with all this steam!?

„NO! STOP IT! STOP IT!" The voice wasn't ominous anymore.

It was, actually, coming from his left.

He turned around and his scream got stuck in his throat.

A young, blonde male was laying on the ground. Naked, and imprisoned by… another blonde male, that looked just like him, laying on top of him.

„NO! STOP!"

He wanted to look away, to unsee what was happening. He felt sick to his stomach. But the orange-yellowish eyes of the blonde burned right into his own, and he felt he couldn't do anything…

„Please, senpai! Help me! PLEASE! I'll be good! I swear! I BEG OF YOU! " The blonde helplessly extended his hand, asking for help… but he could not. His entore body denied movement. „Oh my god, no! Make HIM stop, senpai! Please! MAKE HIM STOP!

But he could only watch as the other blonde, the one with the normal looking eyes, grabs the teenager's hair and smiles with satisfaction…

Suddenly, everything paused.

Then, with great speed, it started playing out in reverse. The normal-looking boy let go of the blonde, which got up, walked backwards to the door, and he himself felt something's dragging him backwards.

He was being led out of the room, back into the darkness, by some sort of invisible force.

Only there was no darkness anymore.

He was back at Dojima's house, together with five Nanakos, which were seeing themselves in a mirror and shaving their eyebrows, with the Junes' theme playing on a loop.

He was being taken even further, and suddenly he was in his classroom, but no other students were present. The only person aside him was a young, brown-haired teacher, writing something on a blackboard.

The moment she put the chalk down, everything stopped again for a few moments, until he felt he was being pushed forward again.

The teacher turned around, and, upon noticing him, untucked her shirt and grabbed her hips.

„My." She giggled „Aren't you a little cutie?

The force was now pushing him right onto her, and he closed his eyes, expecting a collision, but the teacher suddenly disappeared, and, upon opening his eyes, he found himself right in the center of the universe, with the faces of his acquaintances floating around him and talking nonsense.

„Balls. Balls. Balls." A dark-haired boy kept repeating, rolling his eyes and licking his lips.

„GET OUT OF MY CAR!" The face of an old, bizarre man yelled furiously, as it passed him by.

„No, thanks, I don't smoke." Dojima's head denied someone.

And then… they all popped like balloons, and he was left alone in the middle of nowhere. He saw the stars and the planets… all of them so peaceful and beautiful...

The view was truly breathtaking, and he didn't want to move, only observe this neverending beauty. That is, until something overshadowed him suddenly.

He looked up and again his scream couldn't leave his throat.

„WAKE UP!" An angry voice demanded before a gigantic shoe fell right onto him, crushing him on the spot.

 **LINE BREAK**

„Wake up!" Ren raised his leg again „Wake up, I said!"

„OW!" The silver-haired boy opened his eyes „What the hell!?"

„Wake up! Wake up, you piece of-"

„It's okay now!" Chie grabbed his shoulder „See? He's awake now!

„What are you talking about!? No, he clearly isn't!"

„YES I AM!" The silver-haired boy examined his face, shocked. His lips were swollen, his cheek hurt like hell and he was sure he had at least one black eye. „Dude, what the hell!?"

„I was worried." Ren said solemnly „You fell on your back and lost consciousness, and I only tried to resuscitate you..."

"You could have been a little more delicate! I - AAAAGH!" Yu yelled as he looked to his left and quickly jumped away.

"What's wrong, senpai?" Kanji, the boy to his left, raised his eyebrows

„Nothing. Nothing, really." The teen laughed nervously "I just rememb-. No, nothing. I don't wanna think about it." Yu shook his head weakly and looked around. „Where the hell did we end up?"

This place was filled with yellow fog, but they could see they were on top of a structure of some sorts. There were multiple staircases leading below, but because of the fog it wasn't possible to tell to where exactly they lead.

„Hmm." Rise exclaimed „I think you might have been right, Naoto-kun! Nanako-chan really is here! I can actually sense her somewhere close!"

„Really!?" Ren jumped with you and ran to the nearest staircase „Then let's go! Let's go right now! I can't wait to get my hands on her..."

„Calm down, senpai." Naoto said „Let's not make any hasty decisions. And besides, that's not where Nanako is at all."

„What?" Ren looked at her „Where the hell is she?

In response, Naoto pointed her finger at a creepy, Red vortex at the entrance of what looked like a cave just next to the structure. The gap wasn't big, but it wasn't small enough to just jump over it either.

Thankfully, Kanji made for quite a solid bridge.

Soon after, they were all on the other side.

„Is this Nanako's?" Chie wondered, looking at the portal „No, it can be, we already saw her place."

„Guys." Yu turned to his friends „We don't know where we are. This place may be unlike anything we saw before. We will have to be extra-careful, and..."

„Yeah, yeah, whatever." Ren interrupted him and jumped head-first into the red vortex.

 **LINE BREAK**

„What the hell is this!?" Ren was getting more and more irritated with every step. „Shit doesn't make any sense!"

„We told you." Naoto hissed „TV world. It's where we come to rescue people that were thrown into the TV by Nanako-san."

„Still..." The pink haired girl whispered „This place seems different. It…" she sniffed" it makes me wanna cry..."

„Well, it certainly is different from other places we've been." The silver-haired boy nodded his head.

The walls of this place have been dripping with blood. All sorts of broken toys were laying scattered on the floor – teddy bears with their arms or legs ripped off, toy robots broken into pieces, game consoles smashed into tiny bits. Somewhere further, some person was crying heavily and screaming in pain.

„Wait." Yu stopped rapidly „That crazy chick and that Akihiko guy… what if they're still after us?"

„Not likely." Naoto shook her head „I doubt they have ability to enter the TV world. Only you can bring people here, remember? The rest of us has to hold on to you and to each other to be taken here."

„Oh, yeah." The boy sighed with relief.

„So..." the raven-haired boy looked around „This is based on Nanako, right? Maybe we could use it against her, and..."

„Or is it?"

Everyone stopped.

„Did you guys hear that?" Yu asked, frantically looking around.

„Look!" Chie pointed „Over there!"

A dark silhouette was visible in the yellow fog, clearly coming to meet them. Ren blemished his eyes. The person gave threatening vibes, but he wasn't the one to back down. Slowly, he took a few steps forward.

„No, senpai, stop it!" Risette yelled, and actually tried to run after him, but the other teens grabbed her in time „Please, stop! I… I would cry if something bad happened to you! Please, just come back!"

Ren was taking quicker steps, but the other character seemed to take its time.

„Who are you!?" Ren yelled angrily „Come out and face me!"

„Oh, but you know who I am..." The person stepped from the fog, and everybody gasped „Don't you… Ren Amamiya?"

„What!? Okay, who the hell are you?" The raven-haired boy backed away a few steps, as he faced… himself. The same hairstyle, the same clothes, the same evil smirk. The only difference was the other Ren had a pair of yellow, glowing eyes. Real Ren turned to the other teenagers „Is this a prank!?"

„No..." Yu replied slowly „That's… That's…"

„As I said: You know who I am." Other Ren peeked at the group of teens behind the real one „Oh, man, these guys are so cool. If only they'd accept me… maybe I wouldn't have to pretend anymore. We went through so much already... "

„What the hell are you talking about!?"

„They all seem to be such good friends, who care and support each other… Why haven't I had a single person in my life! Why was I always the outcast? Unwanted, unloved…

„Hey!" Ren felt the hair on his back rise up „Stop it..."

„If only I could say there was a single person who cared about me in my entire life! But there wasn't anyone! I was always „the strange one". Beat up in kindergarten, parents preffered to focus on work instead of me...! But one day, I became tired of crying at nights. I thought that maybe if I become this sort of bad boy character people loves to see in the movies, someone will take a liking to me. But still, all it caused was more pain. All I ever wanted was for people to like me! To impress them! And what did I get? Even my own cat runs out on me!"

„Don't!" Ren shouted „Don't you dare saying anything more! You don't know nothing, you piece of trash!"

„Why? Isn't that true though?" Other Ren's eyes pierced through the real one's „Oh, you like to show off. To prove how much of an evil and heartless bastard you are. That you're so tough and mighty, that other people aren't anything but trash compared to you, that they should be scared of you… But tell me, or rather tell yourself, Ren Amamiya… whom were you trying to convince that? The world, or yourself?"

„I-i..."

„It is time to come clean. Admit that all your actions until this point have been nothing but a lost, lonely boy desperately trying to get someone's attention to himself. That they're just an attempt to block the real you."

„No, they haren't! Why… why are you doing this!?

„Why? Oh, because you see, I am you, Ren Amamiya. I have seen both your heart and your mind. And still, despite how much you try to shut yourself in, the more badass you try to look, the more pathetic you are. You know that, right? You know that the truth is they're still the heart and mind of a five year old boy, desperately yelling _please, someone be my friend!"_

„No!" Ren yelled „NO!"

„YES!" His doppleganger smiled with excitement „Yes, make my day! Come on, say it!"

„NO, THIS IS ALL SOME SORT OF BULLSHIT!"

Evil Ren's smile faded a little.

„..What?"

„I don't know who the hell do you think you are..." Ren hissed, nearing in „But I'll have you know you've pissed me off so much I never thought that was even possible."

The teenager had fire in his eyes – and his counterpart must have noticed that because Ren could swear it paled considerably.

„Who the hell are you?" The boy yelled „An actor!? How dare you publically mock Ren Amamiya like that? Do you even understand who you are dealing with!?  
"

„No, I'm..." Now it was the evil version of Ren who started backing away „ I'm..."

„Or maybe it was you guys?" Ren turned to the Investigation Team „What is this, really? Some sort of intervention? Did Sojiro plan all of this? If so, he could have at least thought of an better backstory..."

„No!" The doppelganger desperately yelled „No, I am a Shadow, the True Self!" He looked at the other teens „Come on, tell him, guys!"

„You should probably listen to him, dude." Yu warned

„He's right."" Yukiko nodded „That's how it happened for everyone..."

„Oh, hell no!" Ren turned back to his Shadow „Well, mr. Know-it-all, wanna know how it really is!?"

„That's – wait!" The Shadow waved his hands „Hold on, that's not what's supposed to be happening right now!"

„ Friends? Why would I want friends? So they can be a burden? So they can come to me with their pathetic problems and their even more pathetic lives? _Oh no, Ren-kun, my father has died, what will I do now!?_ Shit like that makes me laugh my ass off everytime. Using people – that's fine, as long as you can get something from it. But being friends? Why? It's so much more fun to crush them and watch as their pathetic existences go down in flames."

„WHAT!?" The shadow widened his eyes „That's… That's horrible! I don't think like that at all!"

„My childhood? What part you wanna hear about? Oh, I know! How about I tell you how my poor aunt Ayumi lost her beloved doggo? You see, when I was five, she visited my mother for her birthday, and that stupid lab wanted to _play with me._ So, I took a piece of wood and took him for a walk. How could a sweet, innocent, five year old child know not to play fetch near a busy expressway? Aunt Ayumi never even blamed me. Said it was an accident..."

„You devil!" Other Ren squeaked „A dog!? Why!?

„Oh, so you knew about how I treated Morgana, Akechi, the Nijimas, but a dog surprised you? I thought you're me, surely you know what I felt that moment? And if you don't I'll tell you – fun! And I still do! Because whom should I pity for? Sakamoto? Dude's as dumb as a rock. Sojiro? He brought that fate on himself. Had he not been so hell bent on easy money, I'd be running havoc in a juvenile hall right now.

„He never took a penny..." The shadow whispered „He just wanted to help your parents..."

„Then instead of being extremely greedy, he was extremely dumb. The former I can understand, but the latter makes you no better than an animal. Back on point though – the rush of adrenaline I feel when doing what I do is all that I need to know it's worthwile. Sure, some innocent people get hurt, some even die., but as long as it's for me, it's for the greater good. And you know what it brings me? Happiness…"

„ENOUGH!" The shadow screamed and fell to his knees „No, that's impossible! You're… You're not me!"

Sudden power Ren felt in that moment was unspeakable. The only thing he could do is… laugh..

„AHAHAHAHAHA!" The teenager chuckled as some sort of soft, blue light was starting to gather around him. First his legs, then his entire body started itching, and soon he realized he's growing extremely fast. „That's right, you rat! I am so much better than any of you!"

„What's going on there!?" Yu yelled „This never happened before!"

„Dude's, like, seven meters tall..." Kanji started backing away.

„I believe we better run." Naoto stated

Panicked, the Investigation Team attempted to flee the scene, but was stopped by a huge feet blocking the path to the exit.

„You're insane, dude!" Yu yelled „Let us go!"

„Oh, hell no, you assholes!" Ren's voice was so strong Yukiko had to cover her ears „You're the ones who dragged me into this, you'll be the ones who'll drag me out!

„Please, senpai, stop it!" Rise yelled „You're scaring me! I'm going to cry if you don't stop!"

With one extension of his gigantic hand, Ren manager to grab all of them.

„Where's Nanako!?" Ren yelled, looking at Rise „Tell me where she is!"

„She's..." The girl was choking back tears „She's not far from here… Please, senpai, let us go!"

„Nanako!" Ren roared, ignoring her „I'm coming, you bitch!"

The boy ran through the corridor with his teeth gritted in fury. Now he'll show that little twerp just whom she messed with. Oh, just you wait, Nanako…

Rise provided him directions, not like she had a choice, as Ren made himself clear what will happen to her if she or her friends even attempt escape. The corridor ended suddenly, as it transformed into a small, orthogonal room with no way out. But, as soon as he ran into that area, the boy stopped rapidly and gasped, looking up.

„Oh, my!" Nanako gave him an wicked grin, looking at him from above „Looks like someone's shadow rejected them!"

Ren stared at her with open mouth, but Kanji spoke.

„Dude, she's like, fifteen meters tall."

 **A/n** **Stay tuned for the final part of the Inaba arc, everyone!**


	15. Chapter 15

**a/n Wow, it has been a long time ago since I've last updated, right? The truth is, I have been pretty sick a few months ago, but so far for now everything looks OK. I hope I will be able to update more regularly from now on. I probably am going to update my other story with another chapter before I continue with this one, as I was supposed to do before I fell ill but that shouldn't take too much time. This chapter is by far the longest one I ever wrote, I was actually going to split it in two but decided after so many months of waiting you guys deserve to have a longer read :)**

The atmosphere was hard to describe as the two opponents looked at each other – Ren with disbelief and confusion, while Nanako was smiling arrogantly and hatefully. The other teenagers still attempted to free themselves from Ren's grasp.

„So you found out about this place, huh?" Nanako stated with an indifferent tone and noticed what he was holding in his hand „Oh, my! The entirety of the Investigaytion team is here, too! How nice!"

„Ugh..." Ren cringed „What a lame-ass pun..."

„Silence, you twat!" Nanako roared „Who do you all think you are coming over here and trying to mess with me!? This shipment is by FAR the biggest order I ever had!" Ren looked behind her and noticed tons of strange boxes laying by the wall „I won't let anyone get in the way! When all of these drugs reach their destination I'll be dripping in money! And then I will finally leave this shithole behind!"

„So it is true." Naoto spoke, „You really ARE the one behind all of the murders, aren't you?"

„Oh, yes." She smiled „From day one I was the one doing all of this! All you had to do was stay out of my way, _big bro._ But no, you just had to dig around. I thought by framing this moron Adachi I would at least get some time to complete this shipment, but you just couldn't quit while you were ahead..."

„Wait!" Chie yelled „You framed Adachi? But how!? That Ameno-sag..."

„Oh, you mean Sagiri-kun? Yeah, I just told him a new waffle shop opened up in that location. I heard he got pretty angry when he found out it didn't though."

„Yes, that was indeed a bummer." A strong voice admitted and they all looked up to see a giant eye looking at them through the glass roof, just above Nanako's head. „I apologize for the uproar I caused, but you have to understand, I really do love waffles..."

„That's right." Nanako smiled, though her voice was getting stronger with every word „So now you understand. I and my partner from the other end planned this carefully, and I won't let a bunch of misfit teenagers ruin what I craved for my entire life! I hate this goddamn town so much..."

„Wait, who's your partner from the other end…?"

„I think that's enough exposition." Ren interrupted „We're done talking."

„I agree." Nanako nodded her head „There's no need to keep this pointless conversation. Let's just put an end to this."

And with that, Nanako charged at Ren, roaring like a wild beast. The ground shook each time her gigantic foot stepped on the floor. Furiously, she extended her arms in an attempt to grab him, but the boy managed to escape in the last moment.

In the quick moment, she was turned backwards to him, Ren managed to equip his gun. Feeling victory is his, he turned to her, with his cocky smile #22.

„Oh, no!" Ameno-sagiri gasped „Watch out, Nanako-chan! He has a gun!"

Feeling fury erupting inside of him, the teenager pulled the trigger and fired the first round with a smile which quickly grew smaller, however, as he realized that his attack is not working.

„Hey, what the hell..."

„Ahaahahaha!" Nanako was laughing as the bullets ricocheted off her „That's… that's so cute! You think your plastic toy will hurt me!?"

Suddenly, her smile vanished. She charged right at him, pulled the gun from his hand and crushed it with two fingers.

„Hey!" Ren protested „Who said it was plastic? I…"

He was not allowed to finish, because rapidly Nanako's head collided with his own. The boy saw stars and in his dizzy state let go of the other members of the Investigation Team, but the girl did not care about them. With another hit she sent him flying at the nearby wall.

„That's it?" She asked as she approached him „That's all it takes to take you down? Gee, what a letdown, isn't it, Kitty-kat?"

Instinctively, Ren raised his head and looked in the direction the girl was looking. Just to his left, there was a small cage laying on a pedestal. The boy gasped.

„JOKER!?" The creature inside was stunned „What are you…What am I.. I mean… What the hell is going on!? I only tried to enter Mementos, but instead ended up in this weird place! I noticed the presence of Shadows so I hid here in order not to be spotted and to think of a way out, but then she came and..."

The cage was extremely small, so much so that Morganas' head and all of his paws were sticking out from it. Suddenly, Ren felt a great anger taking over him.

„You little… What the hell did you do to my cat!?"

„Oh, I just gave him a home, why?"

The teenager stood up, fire in his eyes.

„How… How could you do something like this!?"

„Joker..." Morgana's eyes widened with disbelief.

„This is my cat, get it!? Mine! MINE! The only one legally allowed to hurt, torture and / or kill him is me!"

The girl only yawned in response.

„Finally..." The teenager growled„At long last, it's time for me to use… PERSONA!"

But nothing happened.

„What?" The boy paled and tried again, still without effect „What the hell is going on?"

It was like… like something or someone took his power away.

„Oh, what's the matter? To weak to even summon one?" Nanako giggled „Let me give you a lesson then… PERSONA!"

Something manifested next to her, but Ren didn't see what exactly, as soon he was hit by a wave of green energy. Surprisingly, the spell did not hurt, but the boy felt he was getting smaller, and smaller, and smaller.

Soon after, he was back to his regular height, glaring at the still 15 meters tall Nanako.

„Hey, what the hell did you that for!?"

„Why?" The girl grabbed the cage „Oh, just so you could watch hopelessly."

„No!" Ren yelled „Please! Please, don't hurt my cat… I… I just barely found him again! Let me at least pull his tail or ear!"

But the girl did not react. Still grabbing the cage, she took a few steps towards the door. Not the door the teenagers entered through – there was actually another door, at the opposite wall but it seemed to be locked.

„I knew it." Rise had tears in her eyes „Nana-chan is going to kill us by leaving us here to starve. She's going to leave and we will die and…

„I admit your songs are catchy" Nanako interrupted her „But your brain clearly doesn't work properly. Why would I kill you?"

„Wait!" Yu gasped „So… you're not?"

„Of course not." She smiled gently as she picked a key out of her uniform and unlocked the door „I have OTHER people to do my job."

„What are you talking about?" Ren asked

„I have my ways of silencing people, both in this world and in yours." The girl smiled.

„Wait, no way!" Morgana yelled „Don't tell me… this girl is the one ordering the mental shutdowns!? But that's impossible!"

„There's this brat in your world that gets the job done… or at least there was, I heard someone silenced him…" She muttered „I'm indebted, heard he was about to rat out on me… anyways, and in this world, I have HIM!

The moment she opened the door, they heard a wild roar, unlike anything they heard in real life.

„Wow." Ameno-sagiri muttered, positioning himself so he could get a better look „That is one huge-ass Shadow..."

The creature truly was big, almost as big as Ren used to be a few moments ago. And it was skinny. So skinny its ribs were visible. It was tied up with metal chains, so it could not attack, but...

„I call him Bobby." Nanako commented modestly. „Bobby has not eaten in a long time." The girl continued as she opened the cage „ Do you see where I'm going with this?"

„Wait, what are you gonna do?" Morgana panicked „No, no, no! STOP!"

„So long, Investigation Team." She gave them a wicked smile as she picked Morgana up „Or should I rather say… In-digestion Team?"

„Jokeeer!" The cat yelled helplessly, as his eyes locked with the teenager's.

„Morganaaa!" The boy yelled helplessly, as his eyes locked with the cat's.

„AHAHAHA HEY CHIE, CHIE, DID YOU GET THAT!? DID YOU GET THAT CHIE! OH MY GOD, I CAN'T!" Everyone turned to the laughing girl with disbelief „INDIGESTION TEAM! DO YOU GET THAT, CHIE-?

„SHUT THE FUCK UP, YUKIKO!" The brown-haired girl snapped at her friend „We're about to die, if you haven't noticed! We're about to get eaten alive! Where do you, possibly, find humor in that!?"

Everyone just stared at her for a good few moments.

„Wow." Ren cleared his throat „You're kind of an asshole, you know?"

„Yukiko, It's just…I'm sorry, I... „Chie tried to explain herself as quickly as possible, as her friends' expression quickly changed drastically „Sheesh… No, come on, Yukiko, don't cry, I..."

Suddenly, the ground shook all around them. They focused their attention back on Nanako and with terror noticed she's coming their way. The Investigation Team backed against a wall, but the girl's attention was focused solely on Yukiko.

„Do you think what I just said was funny?" She asked in an indifferent tone „Answer me!"

„I-I..." Yukiko tried to cover her mouth but burst out with laughter again. „Indigestion team? How did you even come up with that!? AHAHAA..."

Nanako made some unintelligible noises.

Then, with a flash of blue energy, suddenly she was small again.

The girl fell to her knees, dropping Morgana, and the Investigation Team watched in disbelief as something wet makes way through her face.

A tear.

„Th-Thank you..." She finally managed to mutter.

„What." Ren was stunned

„All… All I ever wanted to be funny and sweet.„ The girl whispered „For people to laugh at my jokes… but no one ever did."

„Aaaawww." Chie kneeled next to her „Aaawww, Nana-chan! But you are so funny and sweet and kind and caring… is this the real reason why you did all that horrible stuff?"

The girl nodded her head and burst out with tears, and Chie hugged her tightly.

„What." Ren repeated himself.

„Well, how about it?" Yukiko also kneeled next to the girl „I would love to hear more of your jokes?

„Really?" Nanako looked at her with disbelief.

„Absolutely!" The raven-hair nodded her head.

„Um..." The girl thought for a few seconds „What do cats and dogs have in common?"

„Oh?" Yukiko asked „I don't know? What?"

„They both have a nose!" Nanako yelled, now cheerful.

Yukiko just looked at her for a few moments, before laying back on the floor.

„Oh my God! That's so good, that's so good!" She laughed „I want more!"

„Hmm." Morgana also giggled „Guess we really do have that in common, huh?"

„WHAT… WHAT THE HELL!?" Ren interrupted „Are you nuts!? Literally, three minutes ago, she was about to throw us to a Shadow!"

„I'm sorry!" Nanako looked at him sadly „I know I was bad, I…"

„We all understand, Nanako." The blue-haired teenager patted the girl's head „We all know the feeling when we're trying to make a joke and nobody laughs.„ For some reason, she seemed ashamed." It might not be noticeable at first glance, but I do constantly struggle with such problem as well."

„Tell you what, Nana-chan." Chie smiled at her „Since we all went through so much today, how about we go to Junes together?"

„Really!?" Nanako jumped and looked at Yu „We can go to Junes? Can we!? Can we, big bro!?"

„Of course" The silver-haired boy smiled „In fact, let's go right now!"

„YAAAAY!" Nanako cheerfully ran out the door „EVERYTHING'S GREAT AT YOUR JUNES!"

The members of the Investigation Team left the place, chatting with each other, and leaving Ren behind. The boy was staring after them with his eyes wide open.

„Geez..." He muttered „What a bunch of psychos.."

„Hey, Joker!" Morgana yelled after him „Coming or not!?"

The boy shook his head with disbelief and followed suit.

„Awwww." Ameno-Sagiri looked at the leaving group „Another happy ending." The creature kept observing as the teenager's left this world via a huge TV that turned out to be conveniently placed just below the platform they landed on. „I wonder if Junes has waffles."

 **LINE BREAK**

The group was now back at Junes, sitting by their usual table and chatting happily. The table actually turned out to be too small for all of them, but the friendly Junes staff quickly found a table that wasn't that much bloodied and placed it against the first one.

Nanako was telling one joker after another, Yukiko was laughing wholeheartedly, the rest of the Investigation Team following suit, and Ren was just sitting and watching the scene unfold, sometimes raising his feet to allow the nice lady to clean what looked like remains of human brain stickied to the floor.

„There you guys are!" They turned around and noticed Dojima walking in their direction and smoking a cigarette „Thank God, the prefecture is on my ass already. The last thing I'd want is to lose another Key Witness."

Just after him, another group of cops walked through the Food Court, in the direction of the elevator. They were leading two people in handcuffs – the crazy red-haired woman and the man whose name was Akihiko.

Upon noticing them, the blonde gangster barked threateningly and attempted to charge them, but was quickly shot down with a tranquillizing gun.

„They said about 40 people were murdered in this food court alone." The cop muttered and looked at Yu „The people who attacked you were actually two very dangerous mafia members named Akihiko Sanada and Mitsuru Kirijo. They must have gotten a call that you're here, but I have no idea how would anyone know that."

„Daddy, I…" Nanako looked solemnly at the ground.

„It's okay, Nanako, you don't have to say anything." Naoto assured her

„No, I… I wanna say the truth."

And so she did. When she finished, Dojima was speechless.

„Nanako, YOU!? I… I had my suspicions that it was that Hanamura kid until we found his body, but… YOU? I will have to arrest you!"

„Come now, Dojima-san, don't be like that." A middle aged blonde male appeared behind him „You heard her, no one could understand her jokes, we're all pissed when that happens. There's no reason to go that far!"

„Hmm..." The cop wondered „Are you sure about that, Konishi-san?"

„Absolutely! Just give her a lecture about why killing is wrong or something." He smiled at Nanako. „Come on, look at her. She will learn from her mistakes. She's still so young and full of life. So carefree, and innocent. She's..." suddenly he paused „She's… she's just like my daughter used to be!" The man burst out with tears and quickly left the table.

„Fair enough." Dojima sighed „Nanako, I have to say I'm disappointed in you. I'll be clear: the next time you do something like this, I WILL ground you. And you can expect a looong talk when you return home."

„Okay, Dad." she nodded sadly.

„I'll be going now. I expect you home at five o'clock. You too." He nodded at Yu and left.

The atmosphere changed considerably. Nanako kept making jokes, but it was clear she saddened. And unfortunately, that was not the only less-than-pleasant surprise that was awaiting her.

„NANAKOOO!"

The teenagers turned around and noticed a middle-aged man coming their way through the food court. He had a black shirt, a grey coat and a grey hat. Ren squinted his eyes.

„Wait, isn't that..."

„Oh, shit!" Nanako gasped „Iwai-san!"

„Who?" Naoto looked at her.

„It's him! It's my partner from the other end! He must be here because..."

„Where are my drugs, Nanako?" The man asked as he reached the table „And more importantly, why is this Amamiya kid still alive!? Punk's stealing all my turf, I told you I want him out of commission!"

Ren dropped his fork.

„Calm down, Iwai-san. I'm calling this deal off."

The man paled with fury.

„You what!? How dare you! Where are my drugs, then!?"

„I'm not giving them to you! Drugs are evil!"

„Listen up, you little bitch!" The man lost patience and grabbed the girl by the shirt „I don't know what the hell's gotten into you, but I won't play along. I pay you cold, hard cash, so I want my latest order fulfilled, and I want Amamiya dead by the end of the week. Then you can go back to playing Princess Detective or whatever the hell you kids are into this day."

„NO!" Nanako denied passionately „No, I will never hurt another person ever again! Yukiko-san and her friends taught me there's a better way! The way of laughter!"

„What the hell are you talking about!?" Iwai yelled but loosened his grip.

„Don't you understand, Iwai-kun?" The girl said softly „Yes, we had a good run making billions of yen dealing drugs all over Japan and east Asia. Yes, you did manage to conquer a huge portion of Tokyo back in your world… but think.. how does that compare to laughing together and sharing precious moments with your family and friends?"

The man took a long glance around the table, and with every second his expression changed. Rapidly, he let go of the girl.

„My God..." He muttered as he sat down on the bench„My god, Nanako… what the hell have we been doing?"

„See?" She asked quietly „Was that really so hard?"

The man sighed and without asking, reached for a nearby drink. He took a long sip and turned to thank his neighbor, but as he noticed who it was, his expression changed drastically.

„Hey, wait a minute!" He yelled, rising back up „Aren't you that kid..."

„HELP!" Ren yelled, gaining the attention of nearby cops „HELP, THERE'S A CRIMINAL!"

 **LINE BREAK**

„… and you see, Nanako " The girl was sitting in the living room with her head hung down as the cop pressed the button on the remote and switched to the next slide. The screen now showed a photo of a very sad looking woman hugging a young boy, with the title _„Part 12 – why killing is wrong"_ hovering above it. „It's now time to begin the next part of our presentation."

„Yes, daddy." The girl said defiantly.

Ren watched with little to no interest as the cop begins picks up a cigarette from his pocket, lights it and begins his lecture. The lecture actually took about three hours already, and Nanako's eyes grew wider with every slide. The girl looked terrified, but the teenager did not care about that. He had enough problems of his own.

„Hey, you okay?" He zapped back to reality as he heard someone's voice. He looked down and saw Morgana glaring at him.

„No, I am not okay!" He hissed „I mean… how will we return home!? I lost my power, too!"

„Maybe it's for the better?" The cat suggested.

„Better?" Ren felt so angry he stood up „Are you crazy? How do you think I will get rid of that bastard Sakamoto now, huh!?"

„You never change, do you!?" The cat yelled back „Why do you have to be like this?"

„What's going on?" The brown-haired girl approached him „I heard some shouting."

„Not important..." The boy slumped back into his chair „I just lost my Persona ability, that's it. Not that I used it much, but..."

„Awww." She said, „Don't worry, we'll help you."

„What?" The boy looked at her. The overall sweetness of all these people was starting to become too much for him. „And why would you do that?"

„Well, because we're the Investigation Team, aren't we?" She asked „We'd never leave one of us like that, am I right, guys? Just give a word and we'll come with you!"

And again they began agreeing happily and hugging each other like they were in elementary school. Ren's head was starting to hurt from hearing their voices. Why were they like that? Why were they so cringe? Why were they so kind? Had that something to do with the distortions too? He closed his eyes. At this moment, he just wanted to disappear. To be back with Sojiro, and torture him like the old days, and-

„AAAAAARGH!"

His eyes opened up again, and instinctively he looked at the source of the voice. Nanako was pale as a rock, looking at the screen with her eyes widened and her lower lip shaking considerably. The image now showed a lonely, pre-school aged kid holding a teddy-bear to his chest.

„As you can see, Nanako..." Dojima continued in a grave tone of voice „Killing people never results in anything good. Upon realizing someone killed their loved ones most people become sad. Some even more than sad, Nanako."

„No, daddy, please, I didn't know! Please, stop!" The girl buried her face in her hands

„Oh, no, you don't. Look back at the screen!" The cop demanded harshly, and Nanako had no other choice.

„Sometimes it happens so people become very sad, Nanako." The cop announced „Like very, very sad. They feel that they can't cope anymore. That nothing makes sense, that it's their fault. And you know what happens then? Sometimes… do you know what they sometimes do when they think there's nothing else they can do!?"

Dojima hung his voice for dramatic effect, as the girl shook her head frantically. Slowly, the police officer picked up the remote.

„They cry." He exclaimed as he pressed the button.

Nanako yelled three times desperately as the next slide showed a picture of a crying young girl her age. That must have been the tipping point for her, as she jumped down from her chair and found herself hiding behind Ren's back.

„Nanako!" Dojima demanded „Come back here! There's still more than two hours of this!"

The girl shook her head, looking at him terrified from behind Ren.

„No, I can't! I can't! I didn't know..." the girl buried her face in Ren's shirt „I can't! Please, make it stop, big bro #2!"

„Will you give me a break!?" The teenager yelled, backing away from her, finally having enough „Goddammit, I just want to come back home! You're all nuts! If only I had my power..."

„What, the Moel lady took it?" The girl looked at him curiously.

„What?" Ren looked like his systems shut down, and the memories of what happened after he woke up started to come back to him „Wait, the Moel lady?"

„Oh, yeah, she did something like that to me, too." She smiled „But then i just asked nicely, and..."

„That _Censored!_ _Censored Censored Censored_ of a Censored _!"_ Ren's voice was so strong everybody jumped and the nearest glass window shattered. The boy quickly ran toward the coat hook and took down his coat „ _Censored Censored Censored! CENSORED!"_

 _LINE BREAK_

It was a rainy evening in Inaba, as Moel was getting ready to close. The last employe counted the cash in the register, shut the lights off and finally closed the door. She smiled as she hid the keys in the usual spot, and turned around only to be met with a very angry face looking at her from a few centimeters. She gasped in shock.

„Hi there." She sighed „You scared me. Do you need anything?"

The boy did not reply.

„Hello?"

„Do you know Nanako?" the teenager asked.

„Huh? Oh, that serial murder suspect? A real tragedy, isn't? She's still so young..."

Ren did not reply, just stared into her eyes.

„Uuum… if you got nothing else, do you mind leaving me alone?"

She turned around to make sure she closed the door, but when she did, someone patted her shoulder.

„Oh, you still need something?" Suddenly, the woman chuckled „Hey, I told you to leave me alone, did you miss it?" She asked as a group of teens and a little girl stopped a few steps from them.

„Did… you… do something to me?" The raven-haired teen hissed through gritted his teeth.

„Huh? To you?" She blinked „Oh, I remember now, I think I met you when you first came to town. I greeted you, saying _Welcome to Moel_. That's it. You don't remember? That's all. Just that." She chuckled again „What about it?"

„What the hell did you do to me!?" Ren yelled in her face. „Did you take my power away!?"

The woman stared at him for a few moments and then chuckled suddenly as her eyes flashed with gold.

„Ahahahaha… how amazing… you've reached me at last! Let's drop this charade."

„What?" Ren looked at the other teens „What is going on?"

„To be honest, I was quite waiting for you to come." The woman followed his every step, before something suddenly flashed with light, blinding Ren and the others for a few moments. When they regained their sight, the Moel lady was floating above them. „I… am Izanami." She smiled „Ameno-Sagiri, the ruler of the fog is just an aspect of me that I birthed long ago."

„What!? What fog!?" Ren yelled „What the hell are you talking about!? Just give me my power back!"

„Very well." She responded „However to do this, I shall pit my strength against you… but in return, you must come prepared to follow through in your futile resistance." Izanami chuckled again „I will be waiting for you there..."

„Hey."

Everyone turned around and noticed a police car stopping by the gas station and a middle-aged man stepping out.

„Fill up my car while you're at it. Regular's fine."

„..WHAT!?" Izanami yelled after a few seconds „Can't you see..."

„Hm." Dojima muttered „Good time as any for a smoke."

„NO! HOLY SHIT, NO!" In a blink of an eye, Izanami returned to her gas station attendant form and charged after the man. „HOLY FUCK! Don't smoke this so close to…"

But it was too late. Within moments, flames erupted near the gas dispenser, immediately swallowing everything nearby. That „everything" being Izanami, as Dojima and the kids managed to jump away in the last second

„Aaargh!" The woman thrashed and convulsed violently, trying to put the flames out „Argh! No! NOOOO!"

But in a few moments, it was over. After a minute or two, Izanami's burned body collapsed to the ground, and when it did, the flames started dying down dramatically.

„Huh." Chie muttered, „I guess that's it for that."

„Thank God." Yu smiled to his friends „For a sec I was fearing we would have to fight her or something..."

Instinctively, Ren walked to the woman's body. He kneeled by Izanami and touched her. He hissed in pain as the body was still hot, but at the same time felt an incredible power returning to him. The boy got up and looked at the other teens with satisfaction.

„Now it's settled."

„I am glad everything went okay!" Nanako chuckled happily before looking at Ren „Come, big bro #2, I'll show you how to get back home!"

 **Line break**

They were back at the place Ren fought Nanako, however this time they took a slightly different route. Soon after, they found themselves in front of a giant. Red Vortex. Morgana walked toward and started sniffing it, muttering something about „distortions" again.

„This is it." Nanako stated, looking at Ren. „This is the place that I used to communicate with Iwai-senpai and send drugs through. And order mental shutdowns. For some reason, this is the only place in the TV world where interacting with the other side is possible. I think it's some sort of time-travel device..."

„Don't care." Ren really didn't care, but after a few moments felt his stomach sunk „Wait… If I traveled back in time and turned you good, does that mean that in my world these _distortions_ will disappear and you'll never order a mental shutdown?… Goddammit, I will have to kill Akechi all over again, won't I?

„That I cannot answer." She shook her head „But I thank you, Big Bro#2. You and Yukiko-san taught me that there is more to life. From now on, I will dedicate my life to helping innocents and..."

Ren rolled his eyes and turned around as the girl continued. He didn't care about the other teens, too, when they once again started talking some bullshit about friendship and trust etc. He only had one person in mind.

„Well, Morgana, what a day, huh? Come on, we're going ho-"

„I'm not going."

„Wait, what!?" Ren turned around to face him „You can't be serious!"

„But I am, Joker." The cat looked into his eyes „Sorry, but I meant it when I said I had enough. You keep on bullying me, I literally lost most of my lives because of you. At least these people are nice and friendly. You? You will never change. Why would I come back with you? So you can hang me from a Christmas tree again? So that you, quote, _won't have to rent a bat_ when you go to the batting cages? Sorry, I lost my faith in you. People like you don't change, you would never take me to the bottom of Mementos either. I'm staying here. Maybe I won't find out who i am, but at least I'll be happy."

„What?" Ren wanted to protest, but not a word came out of his mouth. Instead, his eyes started te burn for some reason. „No, Morgana! Please! I will change! I WILL!" He finally spoke, but his voice cracked more and more with every word „Please, you can't just leave me! I… I need you, okay? I need you! I will change, I swear, just come home with me!"

„Joker..." The cat widened his eyes. That was not the reaction he was expecting. Could the boy really be telling the truth?

„Yes, I admit I'm a bad person, okay?" Ren's voice was even more dramatic „I'm sorry, I know I should have been better to you. To everyone. Just come back and let me atone! I swear I'll do! Just give me a chance… I'll even buy the fattest tuna there is for you. I'll help you get to the bottom of Mementos, just please, please come back!"

Morgana's mouth was wide opened. That was the first time he saw Ren Amamiya like that, and the teenager looked hopeless. His lips were shaking, his eyes were barely holding back tears, the boy was hyperventilating and spasming more and more with every moment. Maybe… Maybe he actually was a changed man?

„Ok, Joker." The cat closed his eyes and took a deep breath „Let's say I kind of believe you. So, here's how it will be: I will give you just one last, final chance. If you don't…"

„A CHANCE!?"

The cat winced at the harshness of the tone and instinctively opened his eyes. And when he did, he also felt being picked up. Soon, he was staring right into Ren Amamiya's angry face.

„Who do you think you are, giving me _chances,_ you piece of shit!" Ren yelled in his face, as the cat struggled painfully in his hand. Joker again had trouble forming words, but for quite different reasons than just two minutes ago „Do you… Do you have the slightest idea of how pissed off I am right now!? HUH?" The boy screamed as he shook violently.

„Joker what, the hell!?" Morgana tried to swing his paws, but Ren's face was out of his reach. „Just one minute ago you said tearfully you want to change!"

„And what was that about leaving me, huh!?" The boy completely ignored Morgana's words „You think you can just come and go whenever you like? Remember this, you dumb furball: _You_ are a cat, _I am_ your owner. So if I feel like it, I can fucking murder you!" He turned back to the vortex „You are coming home, no questions asked and if I ever find you sneaking out again I will find you and I will end you! Do you get that? And I assure you, you WILL pay for what you did!" The teen screamed before letting go of the cat and sending him right into the vortex with a strong kick „And you better be in LeBlanc once I come home!" He yelled after him.

He turned to the other teenagers, who were staring at him with both their eyes and mouths wide open.

„Screw all you guys."

And, after saying those goodbyes, the teenager took his first step in the direction of the vortex.

„AAAAAARGH!" Suddenly, a piercing feminine scream interrupted his trail of thoughts. He looked back, and saw the pink-haired girl, Rise, in tears.

„Oh my god!" Rise pointed at something, tears quickly streaming down her cheeks „Oh my God, Naoto-kun!"

Ren looked at the detective and smiled.

Black goo was leaking from her mouth, ears, and nose, and she was just standing there with pain written on her face. The other members of the investigation team quickly gathered around her, screaming and crying with disbelief, before the girl's body finally fell down.

Ren could not help but chuckle. Even if he did somehow meddle with the past, some things stayed unchanged.

 _Hey hey hey_

 _It's a beautiful day and I can't stop myself from smilin'_

 _If we're drinkin', then I'm buyin'_

 _And I know there's no denyin'_

 _It's a beautiful day, the sun is up, the music's playin'_

 _And even if it started rainin'_

 _Y_ _ou won't hear this boy complainin'..._

The last thing the boy did before entering the Vortex was smashing his phone to bits.

a **a/n Stay tuned for the next chapter, where Sojiro will finally stand up for himself only to have it backfire in the worst way imaginable.**


	16. Chapter 16

**a/n Hi guys! Well, things are finally getting back to normal for Ren, aren't they? Yeah, this chapter is one of those more lighthearted ones, probably the next one will be too before we start the final arc of the story.**

 **Still, I don't think the story will be over just yet. I have written loads of scenes (or even chapters) that I later cut out for various reasons, but in most cases I still think they're pretty good and would love to share them :) Plus, Royal comes out pretty soon so after I complete it I will probably be willing to write some scenes based around the new stuff, or just release a "complete" and improved version of this story, we'll see about that. For now, let me know via the PM if you'd like to get some "deleted scenes" after I finish this story. :)**

The stress of the past few days was still quite high in Ren, and the teenager felt like he was about to explode from the excess of energy. It was, however, still quite early in the morning, so most of his favorite places were closed, and he was not going to school that day because he didn't feel like it. So, he figured, the easiest way to blow some steam was to do some chores around Leblanc. The teen wasn't too proud about unwillingly helping Sojiro out, but well, there surely was a way he could make the man repay later.

„Bunch of assholes." He hissed, angrily squeezing the mop in a bucket „To think I was nearly stuck in that shithole forever..."

Rapidly, the door to LeBlanc opened and Sojiro entered his cafe.

„Where the hell have you been the entire day?" The bartender demanded to know, but quickly dropped the attitude „Listen up, we need to talk."

„Can't, busy right now." Ren denied not even looking at the old bartender.

Sojiro eyed him for a moment as the teen was still squeezing the mop and immediately paled.

„What on earth are you doing!?"

„Washing the floor, are you blind!?" Ren turned to face him „You could be a little more thankful, you know."

„But… But that's not a mop! That's a dead cat tied up to a wooden stick!"

„OK, listen up: First of all, he's not dead." The teenager took the cat out of the bucket „Right Morgana?" The cat, however, did not reply. „...Mona? Hey, wake up!" The boy demanded and shook quite violently, however without any effect. „Well, serves you right for ditching on me, you asshole!" The boy declared angrily before throwing the _mop_ away and looking at the bartender.

Just as he did, however, he realized something is not right. It was way too early for Sojiro to open the store. What was the man doing here? What was he up to?

„It's way too early for you to open the store." Ren declared „What are you doing here? What are you up to?"

Sojiro already felt this situation will spin out of control quite soon. He, however, was not the one to back down anymore. Not after what that brat did to Futaba. He was not going to deny that he was scared of the boy, but there are some situations you need to stand your ground no matter what.

„I'm not going to deny that I am scared of you." The bartender started with a trembling tone „But there are some situations you need to stand your ground no matter what."

Ren rolled his eyes. This conversation already took too long. Either Sojiro would spit right now what he meant, or the teen was simply gonna leave. After all, he just remembered that the fishing area was open day and night.

„Look, this conversation is already taking too long. Either you spit right now what you mean, or I am leaving. After all..."

„You're going nowhere." The bartender blocked his path, and Ren raised his eyebrows surprised but also honestly a bit impressed by the man's sudden guts.

„OK, OK." the boy raised his hands defensively „Just tell me what you're talking about."

„I'm talking about Futaba." Sojiro reached into his pocket „I've found this in her room."

Angrily, the man placed something on one of the tables. It was an MP3 player, and the one Ren was very familiar with.

„Oh." The teen could not help but snicker „You did, huh? Did you enjoy it? I think I did especially good job with the fifth recording, I almost sound like the Prime Minister..."

„You have gone too far, kid." Sojiro interrupted him, clearly finding no humor in this situation „You have something against me – fine. You wanna wreck this place – fine. You have my fiance kidnapped by her military nutjob of a boyfriend – fine. But by raising your hand at Futaba..."

„Shut it, gramps." Ren raised his tone „I'm tired, you won't believe what I just went through. I am going to take a bath, when I come back your curry better be ready."

„You're going nowhere." Sojiro repeated himself „Not anymore. I am finally standing up for myself."

„What!?" Now really angry, Ren kicked the bucket between them causing the insides to spill out and walked so close to the bartender that he could feel his breath on his skin. „Whatever is that supposed to mean?" He asked, looking straight into the man's eyes

The bartender felt cold sweat literally dripping from him. Instinctively, he took a few steps back, but he was not going to run or back down. Not after he's gone so far.

„It means this is over, you brat." He tried to make his voice sound strong, but he realized it's cracking „I have called the police."

In this moment, the world started to spin uncontrollably around the teenager. His heart began pounding, he felt he was lacking oxygen. Alternately, he was feeling cold and hot and the vein on his temple pulsed more and more with every second.

„YOU DID WHAT!?" Ren yelled as he found the right words „YOU OLD FART, I'LL KILL YOU!"

Sojiro gasped, clearly not expecting the teenager to react this strongly. He tried backing away, but he slipped on the water from the bucket and fell painfully on his back.

Ren was always terryfying, but this time, he seemed to be absolutely out of his mind. There was something inhuman in his eyes. This was not _Ren Amamiya, the guy who messes with people mostly for the laughs_ anymore. This was a full-on psychopath standing above Sojiro and the look in his eyes was more than confirming it. His face, usually simply twisted with a cocky, sarcastic smile now was nearly animalistic. The boy barred his teeth, breathing heavily before roaring and nearing in to the bartender, who desperately tried to back away..

It was at this moment that Sojiro Sakura knew he fucked up.

With one quick move, Ren reached into his pocket and soon in his hands was a shiny, sharp, 12- inch knife.

„Help!" Sojiro cried out with terror, but there was no one in LeBlanc. „Somebody help me!"

„You piece of trash!" Ren hissed as he had the man cornered against the LeBlanc door „Why? After everything I have done for you!?"

„What did you do for me?" The bartender protested weakly „All you did..."

„What? WHAT!? Are you serious right now? Answer me this, you bastard: When I burned down your house, did I also burn down LeBlanc? No, I did not! And could I have done that!? Yes, I could! Have I slashed your beautiful Futaba's throat when she was sleeping? No! And could I have done that? Yes, I could! So shut your mouth and don't ever ask me again what have I ever done for you!" Ren roared again as he rose up the knife preparing to strike down with as much force as he could. Sojiro closed his eyes and waited for the end.

With a small, almost unnoticeable „pop", a black cat respawned near the stairs. Having noticed the situation, he gasped with horror and immediately charged at the teen.

„Joker, NOOOOO!" He collided with Ren with full force, causing the boy to trip over Sojiro and bump into the wall as the bartended, still in shock, weakly crawled away from the door.

„You goddamn bastard cat!" Ren yelled as the furball landed next to him. „Are you on in this, too? You traitor!"

„Joker, calm down..." The cat started but soon two strong hands tightened up around his throat.

„Shut the fuck up!" Ren hissed „This time, don't come back."

The more Morgana was choking, the more Ren pushed on his throat. Sojiro was slowly coming to his senses. The situation continued until suddenly Ren heard someone clear their throat behind him. The teenager turned around and noticed two men in black suits glaring down at him.

„WHAT!?" He yelled, letting go of Morgana.

„Ren Amamiya." The man closer to him started „That is your name, yes? Charges have been filled against you. The person who raised those allegations is Sojiro Sakura, I'm assuming you know him."

Ren slowly turned to face the old bartender, who was now sitting near one of the tables, panting heavily.

„Had that been it, we wouldn't be here right now." The second man in black continued „However, your previous record of assault and setting fire to your grandmother's pancake restaurant, as well as drunk driving without license and three cases of attempted manslaughter means you're currently on probation, right?

„I didn't do anything wrong!" Ren yelled angrily

„Well then, you're coming with us." the first man in black declared „I'm sorry, but it has to be now."

„Finally." Ren turned back to Sojiro, who was now smiling „It's time you learn your place, you brat." His smile, however, grew smaller every second. „What? What is going on!? Arrest him, for crying out loud!

Ren looked back at the two men, who looked at each other.

Then, the one closer to Ren started to chuckle, and the teen, as well as the other man in black soon, joined him in what quickly turned out to be wholehearted laughter.

„Good one, good one, Iji-san." Ren smiled „You almost got me there for a second. How did you know?"

„Are you joking, sensei?" The man replied as he helped the boy get up „How would we forget the name of the person that is paying us so well?"

„Wait, what the hell!? Sensei!? What is going on!?" Sojiro yelled in shock, and the two men nodded at each other and began taking their suits off, but before they shown him their tattoos, Sojiro already knew what was happening. „Oh my God. Oh my God, you guys… you're his…!?"

„That's right!" Now it was Ren's time to smile at the man „Don't you know by now? I fucking rule this town. Police? Journalists? They're all mine. Hell, even the firefighters are in my pocket now."

The teenager slowly got up and neared in to Sojiro. Sure, his basic instinct told him he should just stab the man like he planned to do before, but… wouldn't that be too simple? Surely he could come up with a better revenge scheme. Right? He walked around LeBlanc for a few moments, contemplating and pretending not to see the once again pale Sojiro.

Morgana was observing him with fear, but couldn't really do anything, let alone run – as soon as he came back from that Inaba place, Ren contacted his gang members and soon after he received the electronic ankle monitor that fit just perfectly on Morgana's little paw. As the teenager explained installing the device on the cat, if Morgana ever had the guts again to walk more than 50 feet away from the teenager, the device would generate a shock of 10,000 fucking volts, grilling him on the spot.

Finally, the teenager looked straight at the bartender.

„Protection money."

„Protection money?" Sojiro asked „You mean, like..."

„That's right." Ren nodded his head „I expect 50.000 yen paid weekly in cash.."

„50.000 yen!?" The bartender yelled „But that's nearly the entirety of my weekly salary!"

„Okay, okay, then let's say 49.000 yen." Ren waved his hand „This is all your fault, so you could at least stop complaining, you know."

„That's right." One of the men in black nodded his head „We usually take only around a thousand yen per week, and if a business is poor we even offer financial assistance and all kinds of insurance, but you pissed off our leader, so..."

„...So you really have no right to protest." Ren equipped his knife „Well, unless you'd rather..."

„No, please!" The bartender jumped away „Okay, I'll do it! I'll pay you however much you want!"

„You better be." The teenager patted his shoulder as he walked past him and made his way to his room upstairs.

He could not help but snicker quietly. Sojiro probably thought he got away fairly safely, but Ren was not done with the man yet. Oh, not by a _fucking_ longshot.

 **LINE BREAK**

The air was so hot and dry in this place it was hard to breathe or even think, let alone protect a 15-year old grey-haired girl from dangers and Shadows.

„Wh-where are we?" Futaba asked, her eyes glassy as if she barely comprehended who she was „Y-you said..."

„I told you, didn't I?" Ren asked gently as the girl desperately clung to his hand „We're going to see your mother. You want that, don't you? Don't you want to see her again? To tell her how much you love her?"

„Yeah, but… but t-this place..."

„Just trust me, okay?" He gave her a warm smile „I know what I am doing."

Suddenly, yellow light started to gather up the stairs and Ren cursed in his mouth as a person appeared over there.

„Futaba Sakura! Remember..." The girl in the pharaoh's clothing started some kind of boring monologue.

„GAAH!" Futaba hugged the boy tighter „Who's that?"

BANG!

„Noone important." Ren answered calmly as he hid the gun in his pocket „Not anymore. Come on, let's go."

But in this moment, the foundation of the Pyramid started shaking suddenly and debris began falling from above.

„Ah, shit, I forgot." Ren facepalmed and picked up the pace. „Come on, let's go."

The two quickly rushed upstairs. Ren opted out of engaging in any combat, simply headshoting any Shadow. Futaba was still alive, contrary to every other person whose Shadow Ren eliminated before, which seemed to prove Ren's theory that being present in her own Palace will keep her alive until it totally collapses right. Thank God, everything in his plan relied on this unconfirmed theory. It truly was a gamble.

Finally, they reached the final door.

„Wakaba-san!" Ren yelled as they reached the top of the pyramid „Someone wants to see you!"

Rapidly, they were both quickly overshadowed by something. The teenagers looked up and the girl gasped as she stared at the winged figure with a familiar face.

„FUTAAABAAAA!" The creature hissed, hovering just above the Pyramide.

„What… What is this?" The girl asked confused and noted that suddenly Ren moved a few steps away from her „That's not my mom!"

„BUT I AM!" The creature hissed „BUT YEAH, YOU'RE RIGHT! YOU'RE NO DAUGHTER OF MINE!"

„Wh-what?" The girls' eyes filled with tears „What do you mean?"

„YOU ARE NOTHING BUT A DEMON WHO STOOD IN MY WAY! I WISH YOU HAD NEVER BEEN BORN! THAT WAY I COULD HAVE ANNOUNCED MY RESULTS WITHOUT HAVING TO WASTE MY TIME ON YOU!"

The girl fell to her knees.

„Mom, s-stop that..."

„I POURED MY HEART AND SOUL INTO THIS RESEARCH! IT WOULD HAVE BEEN THE DISCOVERY OF THE CENTURY!"

Futaba hid her face in her hands, sobbing quietly

„YOU'RE GOING TO DIE!"

The girl looked up with terror.

„W-what?"

„THAT'S RIGHT! THIS TIME YOU ARE THE ONE THAT'S GOING TO DIE!" Futaba's mother yelled „YOU SHOULD HAVE BEHAVED YOURSELF! WHY COULDN'T YOU BE LIKE THAT KIND BOY OVER THERE!"

Upon noticing both of them glaring at him, the boy took a few steps forward.

„Well, I see that you two are in for a long, personal talk." He bent down in front of the creature „I do not wish to eavesdrop, so is it okay if I just leave?"

„SURE, KID. THANKS AGAIN!" The creature smiled at him „SORRY I DON'T HAVE ANY TREASURE OR ANYTHING THAT I COULD GIVE YOU. OH, FEEL FREE TO USE THAT SUPER-SECRET EXIT BEHIND THE COFFIN, I DON'T THINK YOU'LL BE ABLE TO REACH THE ONE YOU CAME FROM."

„Will do." The boy bent down again „And don't mention it, I should be the one apologizing to you. I know that after Kaneshiro I sort of forgot about you, I hope you're not offended.

„NOT IN THE SLIGHTEST" Wakaba smiled as the Pyramid shook dramatically „WHOOPS! WELL, YOU BETTER GO!"

The boy nodded his head and quickly ran in the direction of the coffin. Futaba was observing him with her jaw dropped before he disappeared.

„H-hey, no!" She tried charging after him „W-wait!" But it was too late. The moment she extended her hand, the boy disappeared.

Futaba was left alone at the top of the shaking pyramid. Her mother's lookalike disappeared suddenly alongside with Ren. At least that's what she was thinking until she looked up and saw a huge silhouette lunging at her from the sky with its' claws opened.

„FUTAAAAAABAAAAAAAA!"

 **LINE BREAK**

The same evening Ren went out into town to shop for some groceries, books and illegal chemical substances. He was on his way back to LeBlanc when his bag became very heavy without a clear reason. The teenager took a peek inside.

„Oh. Hey."

„ _Oh, hey!?"_ Half of the cat hissed from the inside (the other half was apparently still in the process of respawning) „Is this everything you have to say to me!? You fucking killed me, Joker! Again! And then you tried to do it once more!"

„Come on, it was a long time ago, don't tell me you're still angry."

„What the hell are you talking about! No, it was this morning!"

„Wait, I didn't choke you, did I? How come you're respawning?"

„How do you think?" The cat hissed „I ran after you! I tried to stop you, I was almost on top when a falling brick hit me right in the head! Do you have any idea how many times I've died because of you?''

„Six, I think?" Ren answered after a short pause „Or was it seven?"

Morgana's jaw dropped.

„That was a rhetorical… You know what, not important. Just _please_ tell me you didn't actually do the thing I think you did?"

„I actually did the thing you think I did." The boy answered proudly „And it was A-W-E-S-O-M-E!"

The cat bit his lip. How was it possible someone was so stupid.

„Joker." He took a deep breath „Don't you see what is happening? None of this is supposed to happen! You weren't supposed to do any of this. Think, Joker. The distortions seem to be getting worse! If a distortion was strong enough to cause a physical plot hole to appear, who knows what else has changed!?"

„Excuse me!" A young man handed Ren a leaflet „Please, sir, consider voting for Taranosuke Yoshida. Let's purge this mighty country of all the unworthy scum roaming its streets."

Intrigued, the teen skimmed the leaflet.

Half of the front side was taken by Yoshida's party logo (awfully similar to a swastika, but with arms bent in slightly different directions). Below was a message from Yoshida himself, mostly claiming that his party is not fascist, has no connection to fascism and doesn't support any kind of nazi ideologies, as well as threating legal actions against any person that claims otherwise and spreads the lies of the „liberal media".

The reverse side was taken up with a brief rundown of Yoshida''s ideology. According to the leaflet, the politician wanted to create mass internment camps for „the foreign cockroaches and homosexuals". Yoshida proposed also an ethnically clean state with no place for the „slanty-eyed Chinese" as well as execution of the currently ruling party members by publicly hanging them all.

„WOW." Morgana apparently finished respawning, as he climbed up on the boy's shoulder to read the paper and his jaw was now dropped. „What a sick bastard."

„You don't say.' Ren angrily squashed the leaflet „What the hell? These are all MY ideas! This dude stole my entire ideology!"

„WHAT!?"

„Oh my God." The teenager stopped suddenly with a smile.

Not so long ago, he hated visiting that place. But after all that shit he went through just recently, the sight of the familiar red door and of a red-dressed girl sitting at the top of them cheered him up like he never thought possible. That was the first time he felt he is back at home. The teen quickly ran in the direction of the door.

„Hey, been a long time, hasn't it?" The teen smiled „May I come in?"

But… Caroline did not react, simply staring off somewhere in the distance

„Hey, are you deaf!? I asked if I can come in!"

Still no reaction. The teen shook his head, irritated.

„Fine, I'll do it by myself."

He tried to grab the handle of the door to the Red Room, but as soon as he touched he felt an immense pain, almost like the handle was on fire.

„Ow! What the hell?"

Suddenly, the girl jumped down, but she still avoided eye contact with the boy.

„Our master." She stated suddenly „Was most displeased when he found out about your sudden departure. Your rehabilitation was marked as incomplete."

„What?" Ren raised his eyebrows „What the hell, I didn't even want to go anywhere. It just… kinda happened."

„Sorry, but to you, the Velvet… Red Room is closed. My master made sure my sister and I are aware of that. He..." Her voice cracked a bit „… He even made us kinky swear we will never speak to you again."

„What?" The teenager scratched the top of his head „Don't you mean… pinky-swear?

„SHUT YOUR TRAP, INMATE!" The girl lashed out at him suddenly, clearly not controlling herself „I KNOW WHAT I MEAN!" She widened her eyes and covered her mouth with her hands „Crap, sorry, I didn't mean to yell, I..."

„Caroline, what are you doing there for so long?" A strong voice asked from behind the door before adding, more angrily „You better not be trying to get the mortals to save you again, you know they can't hear you. Hurry up and help us, this goddamn elevator is stuck again!"

The girl paled, mouthed a quick „sorry", opened the Red Door, and walked inside. The door disappeared soon after, leaving Ren dumbfounded.

„Joker, what the hell?" Morgana's voice brought him back to reality „What are you staring at a wall for? Whom were you talking with? Come on, let's just get home, you must be tired after today, let's get some sleep.

 **Line break**

Ren was staring impatiently as Sojiro was preparing his favorite curry, his body still shaking in fear. The man kept looking at a clock every five minutes, and Ren suspected he knows exactly the reason why.

„Futaba's still not home, huh?" The boy asked as he calmly took a sip of coffee „Who knows, maybe the special school bus driver suffered a mental shutdown?"

The man nearly jumped in terror at the thought of such a situation, but bit his lip and continued his work without saying a word. When he went back to the refrigerator to get some more ingredients, the teen decided to seize the opportunity. He quickly squeezed the piece of paper he prepared before in his pocket and threw it under one of the tables.

„Wow, what's this!?" He yelled as the paper was in the proper place „You think Futaba just had enough and decided to write a suicide note?"

The man dropped all the dishes he was carrying (judging by the sound) and quickly ran out of the kitchen, but Ren was obviously quicker. He quickly ducked under the table, picking up the paper he just placed there.

„I'll read it." The boy cleared his throat „It says: _Dear Sojiro, I am running away. I am sorry, but I could not stand the ridiculous living conditions you have offered me and your tasteless curry. Really, learn how to cook. Since I've moved with you my life has become more and more shitty with every year and I just realized you are the main reason it has been such a trainwreck. I am really thankful for all the things you did for me, but I am also not thankful, because wow, if this was the best you could offer me then you really are just an old bastard. Please, do not try to find me. Love you forever, Futaba."_

Ren looked up at the man, whose lower lip was now shaking dramatically.

„Wow." The teen added „Are you proud of yourself, Sojiro? Look what you've done."

The bartender could not take it anymore. He straight burst out with tears and ran out of Cafe Leblanc without bothering to even lock the door. The teenager in tur, could not help but smile to himself.

That's what you get for messing with Ren Amamiya.


End file.
